Perks of the Smallest
by pikaace
Summary: Companion to The Smallest Straw Hat. Being a pirate comes with all sorts of adventures, drama, and excitement. But it also comes with shenanigans, chaos, and sometimes even pure insanity. A series of one-shots starring Pika-chan and its misadventures with the Straw Hat pirates
1. Hobby

**GREETINGS MY FELLOW PIRATES! And welcome to 'Perks of the Smallest', the long awaited companion to 'The Smallest Straw Hat'! If you recall a while, I suggested writing a story where basically filler content for Pika-chan could run and play. So that's exactly what this is!**

 **All the filler in here will range from missed filler episodes to AUs and 'what if' scenarios. Depending on the prompt it may be short or it may be long. Who knows? There really won't be an update schedule for this, since I'm focusing my energy on the main story, but the settings will always stem from places Pika-chan has already been. For example, since we haven't reached Water 7 yet, none of these stories will be set before or after that until the main story reaches it. Get it?**

 **Oh, and obviously, if you have ideas for a filler adventure, please don't hesitate to suggest it! I'll credit you obviously and before you all freak out, yes this is most likely where the 'Pika-chan becomes human' scenario will happen. I just don't know when it will happen yet; just know that it will happen!**

 **Got all that? Okay? Okay. Let's do this!**

* * *

 **Prompt: Hobby**

 **Set: After Alabasta**

 **Summary: Pika-chan hates being bored...but Chopper has a solution...**

* * *

I hate being bored. I hate it with a passion. That's probably because I'm the only crewmember who doesn't have a job. Okay, I'm ship's therapist, but these guys don't need that all the time! In fact, most of my time is spent helping the others with their jobs!

I _help_ Sanji cook, I _help_ Nami watch the log pose, I _help_ Chopper gather and make medicine, I _help_ Usopp build things, _I help_ Zoro and Luffy fight. That's literally all I do; help. Not that they don't appreciate it, but I always feel like a third wheel, because they could easily do their jobs without me.

I want something to do that's only for me to do.

"Hey Pika-chan!" I turn around to see Chopper coming towards me. "I have something for you!"

I tilt my head, "Pika?"

Chopper reaches into his bag, "I remember in the desert how you were having memory problems with your amnesia." He says. "I thought about it, and maybe this can help!" He pulls out a small book with a pencil inside.

I take it with a confused expression; isn't this one of Chopper's medical journals?

"It's an extra medical journal, I thought you could use it." Chopper says.

"Pikachu?" I ask.

"Well, Sanji told me that you sometimes get flashes of your memories when something triggers them, is that right?"

I perk up; Sanji told him that? How did he know? The last time he brought up my memories before coming here was back when we discovered Lost Island. Was I really that obvious about it?

I nod to answer Chopper's question and he points to the journal. "If that's the case, then it might be a good idea to write down what you're remembering." He says. "That way, you'll have all your memories written down and maybe you can find a connection; or you could use it to, you know, vent any strong feelings you have."

I look up at him in surprise; I had never thought about that before! I remember all my mystery words and those flashes I got way back when...maybe if I see them all together on paper I can figure out what they mean! I smile big, "Pikachu!" _'Thanks Chopper! You're the best!'_

Chopper starts wiggling, "Complimenting me won't make me happy you bastard!"

I laugh and scurry off, holding the journal tightly. I immediately run to our room, open my new journal, and start writing. I don't want to wait for this.

I start by listing out all my mystery words. Arceus, Dragonite, Kyogre, Mesprit, Wailord, Rayquayza, and so on. After that I try to remember when I remembered those words and why I did.

Let's see...I remembered Kyogre and Wailord when we met Laboon...I remembered Articuno when I was hiking Drum carrying Sanji...I remembered Rayquayza and Zapdos when a storm was happening...what's the connection here?

Do they somehow relate to what was going on at the time? But what would words like Zapdos and Articuno have to do with things like storms and blizzards? I sit for a minute and think of the most common of my mystery words: Arceus. That word has been with me since day one of my amnesia. And I've always said it without hesitation. Why do I keep bringing it up?

I think back to all the phrases I've used that word in, writing them all down as I go. Oh Arceus...For the love of Arceus...what in the name of Arceus...Arceus dammit...

I frown and grit my teeth in thought. It's kinda like I'm referring to something high up. Other people have said phrases like mine before...but what do they say? In fact, I don't always say those phrases with Arceus, now that I think about it. I sometimes replace Arceus with those other mystery words, like Mesprit bless him or holy Heatran. But why would I have so many words referring to something high up?

I decide to come back to that and move on. What else can I write down...oh, how about all those figures I keep seeing?

I turn to blank page and start to draw, feeling that words wouldn't be good enough to show what I'm talking about. I make a bunch of wobbly shapes that somewhat resemble what I see whenever they show up. I also make sure to label the aura colors of those two tall figures I saw back in the desert. One is yellow and blue and the other is red and orange.

After that I decide to write about those brief memory flashes. I write about the Dragonite statue changing, the flash I got when we entered the mirage of Lost Island, and what I felt when I got trapped in the freezer.

I frown as one phrase rings through my mind while I remember. _'Don't take me away! Please!'_

My grip tightens on my pencil; I have a really bad feeling that I was taken by force from my home. But then, how did I end up on the Baratie? And why did Sandy and I seem so relieved to see each other?

...Oh yeah...Sandy…

I take a deep breath and turn to a blank page. I have to write about him. Out of everything, Sandy gave me the most clues to my memory. He told me the true name of my species: Pokémon. I'm a Pokémon. We're both Pokémon; he's a Krokorok and I'm a Pikachu, but we're also Pokémon.

I guess Pokémon is just the overall name my kind has, like humans or sea monsters. We have a base species, but tons of subspecies within. But if that's the case...how many of us are there? I have a feeling deep down that the number is pretty big...unless of course something happened.

I shake the negative thoughts away and go back to writing. I swallow and start to write about the forgotten memories of Sandy I recovered. He was my best friend; he taught me Brick Break; we trained and fought together; his Muscle Band belonged to his father before being passed on to him.

I glance over to a spot in the room, where the band is sitting, neatly folded in what I consider my corner of the room. I smile and draw a rough sketch of the band among the words; I wonder if there are other items like that out there that can boost our strength?

I also write down all the moves Sandy used in both our fights; Dragon Claw, Iron Tail, Brick Break, Sand Tomb, Mud Shot and that digging move. Something tugs at the back of my mind; Sandy said he would teach me everything he knew... could he have taught me that digging move? Or can I learn it now? I'll have to check the next time we find land.

Once I'm done, I flip through the journal and read through what I've written. I never knew how much I had actually recovered...and it was all thanks to being on this ship. If I hadn't set sail with Sanji, I never would have remembered as much as I do!

The port hole suddenly opens and Luffy stretches his head down towards me, "C'mon Pika-chan! Food's ready!" He says before stretching back up.

I smile and close my journal, placing it next to my Muscle Band in my corner, feeling lighter than ever before. I never knew how much I needed to get all that stuff off my chest! I'll thank Chopper once we start eating.

I give my journal one last glance before climbing up out of the room; I may be a Mystery Mouse now. But with that journal and this crew, I have a feeling that I'll be back to a Normal Mouse in no time.

* * *

 **I remember someone brought this up a while back. They pointed out that Pika-chan doesn't really have anything to do on the ship other than help others or sit around. So I decided this was the perfect idea to kick this story off with and a good way to help you guys try to figure out what happened to Pika-chan if any of you are already theorizing. X3**

 **And I don't know if Pokémon can write or not, so I'm just assuming they can in their own handwriting. I remember in the PMD series, writing was done through footprint runes so there's that. But honestly, Pokémon are eerily close to humans and I'm pretty sure they know how to read so why shouldn't they know how to write? And that's my logic, ladies and gentlemen.**


	2. Marines

**Prompt: Marines**

 **Set: After Loguetown**

 **Summary: When the Marines take pirates away, the mouse must jump into the fray...**

* * *

I am amazed that this even happened. After everything we've been through, you would thinkthis would be impossible.

But it did, and that's why I'm sneaking aboard a Marine ship.

My idiot of a captain got himself captured and in turn got the rest of my crewmates captured. I honestly have NO IDEA how a random army of Marines was able to contain Luffy seeing as I was trapped below deck during the struggle (embarrassing I know), but then again, this is the same kid who couldn't get out of stocks when he was about to be executed in Loguetown so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

From what I could hear when I was trapped, Zoro and Sanji were taken once Luffy, Usopp and Nami were used as bargaining chips so it's up to me to get them out. I'm not worried about them being hurt, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna take my sweet time with this. I actually feel pretty confident about this. I mean, as long as I can dodge a few bullets I should be fine.

Getting here was a HUGE hassle. The Merry was pretty much stuck in the ocean after the Marines took the others (they didn't have the tools to attach the ship to theirs causing them to wait for backup) so I had to swim all the way to the ship. Thank Arceus it wasn't too far away! But the minute I got onboard I had to hide 'cause Marines were swarming the main deck.

I hide behind some barrels, careful to not get spotted, and I quickly zoom inside the minute I'm able. I keep myself against the wall, hiding behind whatever I can as I search for some sign leading to the holding cells. I decide to head below deck and work my way up, following a Marine down the stairs. And the moment I do, I learn exactly where my crewmates are.

"I'm hungryyyyyyy!"

"How can you be hungry at a time like this?!"

"Could you just shut up and at least try to find a way out of here!?"

"Don't worry Nami, I'll make sure none of those Marine bastards touch you!"

"As long as it gets you beaten up, be my guest."

"What was that, moss-head?!"

Good to know that our crew comes with a neon sign pointing out where they are when we get separated. The soldier I'm tailing audibly groans, "I swear, these Straw Hat pirates are noisier than mating Sea Kings." Okay, I did _not_ need that image in my head, thank you!

I give the soldier a decent shock, easily knocking him out and go from there. I follow the voices until I eventually reach a hallway lined with tiny cells, loud voices coming out of five of them. Guess they separated them to keep them from helping each other.

"Pika pi!" I call softly and step into view of the cages. Everyone lights up at the sight of me and I get a good look at everyone to make sure they're alright. Everyone but Usopp and Nami are tied up; guess the Marines could tell they're not much a threat on their own.

"PIKA-CHA-!"

"Luffy, shut up!" Usopp hisses. "The Marines will catch Pika-chan too if they hear you!"

"Oh yeah…"

I roll my eyes and point to the lock closest to me, "Pika pikachu?"

"The keys should be in there." Nami says, pointing to the door at the end of the hall.

"My swords are in there too." Zoro adds.

"There's a guard in there, so be careful." Sanji adds.

I nod and give a small salute, cantering to the door. I leap onto the doorknob and manage to twist it before it slowly creaks open. It's a pretty empty room with only a desk inside and nothing much else. I see a ring of keys hanging on the wall and three familiar swords in the back corner, as well as a sleeping guard at the desk.

This should be easy.

I easily grab the keys off the wall and place them on the ground so they don't jingle. I then move to Zoro's swords and realize that they're bigger than I realized; this could be a problem. I grab them by the bottom and try to slide them away from the wall only to have them tip over with a loud crash.

I turn in horror to see the guard waking up. "Huh? Wha…?" He blinks sleepily until his gaze falls on me, "What? What are you doing in here?"

I smile uneasily before unleashing lightning upon him, making him fall back onto his desk in a burned slump. Well, at least now I don't have to worry about making noise. I place the ring of keys on my tail and grab the now fallen swords. I walk backwards towards the door, dragging the swords with me until I'm fully out of the room.

I leave the swords on the ground and move to the closest cell which contains Sanji and look through the keys for the right one. Once I do, I leap up, place the key into the hole and turn. The door swings open and I hurry inside.

"Nice job, partner." Sanji says as I start gnawing on the ropes binding him. Once he's free, I hand him the keys and I go over to Zoro's cell. I easily squeeze through the bars and start working on his ropes while Sanji unlocks Nami's cell. Once Zoro's free, I move to Luffy's cell and untie him and Sanji unlocks Usopp's cell.

"Yes! I can move again!" Luffy cheers.

"Luffy, hand me my swords." Zoro says.

"Sure." Luffy presses himself against the door and easily stretches his arm towards the swords. He grabs them and somehow manages to throw them through the bars to Zoro. A split second later, both his cell and Luffy's are nothing but pieces of clean cut metal. Nice. Now it's just a straight shot back to the ship!

I lead the charge since I remember the way I came and soon we're back on the main deck. Nami and Usopp make their way back to the Merry to steer it over to us while Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and I take out the Marines.

Once we're done, Luffy stretches over to the Merry, taking us with him and leaving the ship in disarray. "Raise the sails! We have to get a head start if we want to lose them!" Nami orders.

Everyone moves about and soon the Marine ship is shrinking out of sight. I sigh in relief; today turned out to be pretty exciting. I was almost afraid it would be another eventful day. Oh man, I already start to sound like Zoro and Sanji.

I look up as the latter pats my head in a praising manner. "Nice work with the Marines, Pika-chan." Sanji says. "Maybe you should get trapped below deck more often."

I smirk and give him a look; very funny. However, I can't help but feel a twinge of pride deep inside. Maybe I really can be useful when the situation demands it.


	3. Shrink

**Prompt: Shrink**

 **Set: After Arlong**

 **Summary: Careful what you wish for...**

* * *

It's no secret that being small sucks.

Especially on a big pirate ship like this. The worst part is how useless I am like this! I can't do anything to help with the ship, like raise the sails, turn the rudder, or work the paddles. I just have to sit around on deck while the big strong humans run around and take care of the ship.

I guess the one advantage to being this small is being sneaky, but there's hardly ever a time to use that skill. I'm agile and fast, but so are the others. Well, at least they don't pick on me because of that; but for some reason, that makes it worse. It's like they know I can't do anything to help so they don't ask.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts as Luffy shouts out, "Island! I see an island!"

Everyone comes out and gathers on the front of the ship to see a decent sized island coming into view. It looks uninhabited and full of plant life, kinda like a mix between a jungle and a forest.

Nami pulls out a map and looks at the island, "It looks like this place is called Hope Island."

"Hope Island?" Usopp asks.

"Pika?"

Nami shrugs, "I've never heard of it either; but I remember hearing about a legend." That one word catches Luffy's attention right away. "If I remember correctly, there's a hidden lake on this island called Prayer Lake, which is said to be able to grant any wish or prayer." Nami explains.

"Really?! That's awesome!" Luffy exclaims.

"Sounds like a load of crap, if you ask me." Zoro remarks.

"I'm just telling you what I heard; I never said it was true." Nami responds, turning up her nose at the swordsman.

"Well, either way it sounds like a safe island." Usopp points out. "It actually sounds like it could be pretty nice; Hope Island, how does that not sound safe?"

Nami shrugs, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to check it out; who knows, maybe we'll find something."

"I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, Nami!" Sanji cheers. "Yes! Adventure, here we come!" Luffy cheers.

* * *

A little while later, we drop anchor. I'm looking forward to this; this is my first island to explore with these guys. I wonder what kind of-

"Pika-chan, you stay and guard the ship." I start and look up at Sanji in shock. What do you mean, stay on the ship?

"One of us needs to stay here and make sure nothing happens to the ship." Nami says. "I know you're small, but I'm sure you can handle it." Wait, what is that supposed to mean?!

"C'mon! Let's goooo!" Luffy yells. "Adventure!"

"We're coming!" Sanji and Nami disembark the ship before I can protest. "We'll be back soon!" Sanji calls, looking back at me.

I frown as I watch them deviate into separate paths. I can't believe this! My first island as a pirate, and I have to play guard duty? How is that fair? I slump on the railing as everything goes quiet. A few minutes later, and I'm already going stir crazy.

I finally sigh and leap off the ship; there are no ships nearby and my instincts are quiet; nothing's gonna attack the ship. So what's the harm in doing a little exploring of my own; I won't go far.

The island really has nothing special going for it. There are a lot of trees, bushes, normal forest animals, and that's about it. It is pretty, though. I wander around for a while until I stop at creek to rest. Not really much to write home about here; still better than staying on an empty ship that I can apparently handle watching despite my size. I don't know why that sentence is bugging me so much. Sanji and the others know that there's more to me than just my size, right?

I sigh and take a drink from the creek, the water tasty and clean. I just wish that they all knew what it was like to be the small ones! I lift my head, having finished my drink when a gust of wind blows over me. The trees shake madly and animals scurry about until it finally stops. That was weird.

I guess now I should find my way back to the ship before the others get back.

* * *

Sanji had no idea what the hell just happened. He was walking along looking for anything edible when there was a gust of wind and his vision suddenly went spotted. He blinked a few times to get his sight back and the wind completely stopped. "That was weird…" he commented. However, everything seemed...off. He wasn't sure why; he looked and felt normal.

Sanji shrugged and continued on his way when he heard something approaching in the distance. He turned around just in time to see…

"What the hell?!" Sanji stumbled to the side as a giant squirrel bolted right past him before climbing a nearby tree. "That squirrel was as big as a house!" Sanji exclaimed. A shadow then passed over him and he looked up to see a giant butterfly flying over head.

"What kind of island is this?" Sanji wondered out loud. "When did everything get so big?" A loud screech was then heard from above him, making the cook cringe; he looked up to see a bird flying towards him. It looked like a normal sized forest bird, but as it got closer, Sanji learned quickly that that wasn't the case.

Sanji ducked just in time as the bird swooped right over him, it's feet brushing against his jacket to get a hold of him. "Damn bird…" Sanji muttered, getting back to his feet. He was starting to get the feeling that everything hadn't grown. The bird turned around and went for another shot at Sanji, "Alright, you're asking for it!" Sanji growled.

He leapt into the air and spun, readying a kick, but the bird was too fast. The bird lashed out it's beak and Sanji cried out as a sharp pain stabbed his shoulder. He spun his other leg around and managed to kick the bird on the neck, but the bird shook it off like it was nothing, resulting in the cook getting another peck, this time to his leg.

Sanji fell to the ground and the bird zoomed towards when it was suddenly covered in electricity. The bird fell to the ground, burned to a crisp and Sanji turned around to see a familiar yellow mouse behind him. "P-Pika-chan?"

Pika-chan looked at him for the first time and its eyes widened, "Pika?" It asked. No doubt about it, that was definitely Pika-chan, but...why was it so big? Sanji was barely half its height! "So I really did shrink…" he muttered, looking at the burned bird.

This was already shaping up to be another hectic day.

* * *

I almost can't believe what I'm looking at. Sanji is...well, he's tiny! He shrunk! He's half my height, I just about tower over him!

Well, at least I got here in time to help, though I never expected that I'd have to save him from a bird of all things. "I guess you didn't shrink." Sanji comments, looking up at me. "I wonder if this happened to Nami and the others?"

My ears suddenly twitch and I look around abruptly. "What is it?" Sanji asks. I can hear lots of flapping and bird calls; that can't be good. We look up to see a bunch of those same birds fly down towards us. Oh crap!

I quickly get on all fours and slide my tail under Sanji. I gently fling him onto my back and I start running, the birds right behind us. "What the hell is wrong with these things?" Sanji exclaims on my back. They're either pissed that we roasted their buddy or this part of their attack formation; either way, they're trouble!

I look up as a handful of birds from the group fly right over us and fly ahead. They then swerve around flying right back towards us making me skid to a halt. Unfortunately, the sudden stop sends Sanji flying right over my head and the birds take full advantage.

My eyes widen as the birds start pecking and scratching at Sanji in a big pile and I make my tail iron. _'Get away from him!'_ I give my tail a hard swing, and the birds scatter. I then turn around, facing the whole horde and unleash a lightning attack, roasting all the birds in one fell swoop.

I turn back to Sanji, "Pika pi?" _'You okay?'_ I ask looking him over. I don't see anything particularly bad, just a few rips and tears on his clothes and I don't smell any blood.

"I'm fine," Sanji says, getting up and grasping his shoulder. "Thanks, buddy."

I smile and nod. We both look at the burned birds on the ground and I start to get uneasy; if Sanji couldn't defend himself from birds then who knows what trouble the others could be in if they've shrunken too!

"We need to find to others." Sanji says. I nod and crouch down. Sanji climbs on my back and I take off deeper into the forest.

* * *

"I can't believe this!" Nami hugged herself as she wandered through the now gigantic forest. "No one said anything about shrinking! Why does the crazy stuff always have to happen to us?!" She tried and failed to suppress a shiver as the smallest animal noises suddenly sounded threatening and dangerous. She just hoped that she could find the others soon so they could figure out how to reverse this mess.

"Where are those idiots? This is why I wanted us to stay in groups!" She climbed a hill only to stop short as it ended abruptly with a cliff. If she was normal height, it would've been easy to simply slid down it to the next level of the forest, but now, it looked like a good twenty foot drop.

"There's got to be a better way down…" Nami muttered. She looked around for some easy pathway when she heard something move behind her. Nami froze, pale from shock and slowly turned around to be face to face with a-

"SPIDER!"

The insect's head was the same height as her own, making it's multiple eyes and fangs much more apparent. Nami shrieked in terror as the spider stepped towards her, making her take a step back. Nami screamed as she fell backwards, forgetting about the cliff, the braced herself for the landing. Nami frowned as her fall was stopped rather abruptly by something...bouncy?

Nami opened her eyes to find that she couldn't move, and it didn't take her long to notice the long sticky strands she was lying on. She was in a web. "Oh no...no no no, not this! Anything but this!" Nami cried as she struggled to get up from the sticky web. The spider from before quickly appeared on the opposite end of the web, making Nami realize that she was still a good distance off the ground, enough to injure her if she fell wrong.

She paled as the spider slowly crawled towards its new victim, "No no no!" She yelled. "Stay away from me! I hate spiders! No!" Nami squeezed her eyes shut as the spider hovered over her when she felt a sudden rush of air as something yellow brushed the spider away. She opened her eyes to see that the spider was gone.

"Pika!"

She started at the familiar cry. The web then suddenly shook and then she was falling only to be caught by something yellow. She looked up at the familiar face, "Pika-chan?"

The mouse smiled down at her, "Pikachu!" Nami slumped in relief in the mouse's arms; that was too close!

"Nami!"

Nami looked down as Sanji appeared beside Pika-chan, "Sanji!"

Pika-chan gently put Nami down and Sanji went up to her, "Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?" Sanji asked, helping her get the leftover web off her clothes.

"I...I think so…" Nami answered, shivering at what had nearly occurred. She was never looking at a spider again!

"So you shrunk too, huh?" Sanji said, holding out his hand to help her up.

Nami took it and she stood up, "Looks like it; but Pika-chan looks normal."

"I know; but if we've shrunk, that probably means the others have too."

Nami sighed, "What I don't get is why a place called Hope Island made us shrink like this!"

"Hopefully we'll figure it out once we find the others; I'm exactly looking forward to being stuck like this."

"Pika." Pika-chan said with a nod and crouched down, allowing the cook and navigator to climb on.

"Let's go , Pika-chan!" Sanji said, and the mouse took off.

* * *

Zoro had to admit, this was a new one. He could've sworn that these animals were normal sized a moment ago. But to make matters worse… "Where the hell is my sword?!"

He glanced around and found it but it were huge! Wado was lying on the ground, the size of a fallen tree. "What the hell is going on?!" He never took off his sword once since arriving here! How did it fall off and how did it get so big?!

Just then, a shadow loomed over him. Judging by its shape it was something big and furry. He turned slightly to see a red fox leering down at him, its fangs bared. "What do you want?" Zoro growled.

The fox bent its ears back and swiped at him without warning. Zoro barely managed to jump and avoid it, but the fox was faster than it looked. The minute he landed, the fox pounced, pinning him to the ground on his stomach. He looked behind him as the fox's mouth drew nearer, but once its nose was in range, Zoro gave it a hard punch.

The fox flinched and loosened its hold on Zoro, allowing him to get up and run. That punch hardly did anything! If he was normal size, that fox would've been sent flying! He looked behind him to see that the fox had recovered and was now giving chase. He hated running from a fight, but in this situation, he had no choice.

* * *

We ran for a while, but with no sign of Luffy, Zoro, or Usopp. After a while, I slowed to a walk and we looked and listened for any signs of them. Sanji and Nami called out to them but there was no answer. Man, where could these guys be?

Just then, I spy something in the distance. It looks like...a white sheath. "Pika!" I exclaim and move quickly towards the object. Just as I thought.

"Isn't that Zoro's?" Sanji asks.

"No doubt about it." Nami says with a nod as she and Sanji slide off me. "This is Zoro's alright; so he must be close by."

I glance around, listening for any sign of him; he couldn't have gone far, that is, if he hasn't gotten lost yet. I point up to the tree, "Pika pika." _'I'm gonna look up there.'_ I say.

Sanji follows my gesture, "Are you saying you want to look from up there?" He asks. I nod. "Alright, we'll keep an eye out on the ground." I nod again and scale the tree. I move into the branches, looking from every angle, but still no sign of him. C'mon, where are you, Zoro?!

After a while, I give up and jump down from the tree only to freeze in fear. Sanji and Nami are gone! Don't tell me they wandered off without me?! Crap, I've got to find them and fast! I jog down the path for a while, keeping an ear out when I hear a familiar scream. That's Nami!

I quickly run towards the sound and find myself in a clearing. A fox is standing near the base of a tree, growling, and it looks like it's cornering something. Oh no! I pick up my speed and white energy surrounds me as I slam right into the fox making it skid on its side.

"Pika-chan!" I turn to see Nami, Sanji, and Zoro at the base of the tree, all of them unharmed. I smile and turn back to the fox who's sluggishly getting to its feet. I stand protectively in front of my three friends and growl at the fox, sparks flying from my cheeks.

Luckily, the fox knows it's in a fight it can't win and runs away with a yelp. I turn back to my friends with a smile and walk towards them. "Nice one, partner." Sanji says.

"Pika." I say with a nod before looking back at where the fox ran off. If even Zoro was in danger, I'm getting even more worried about Luffy and Usopp.

* * *

"Huh, this is weird." Luffy said, looking around as he stood on a tree branch. "I could've sworn this tree wasn't this big." He stretched his arm and pulled himself up to the next branch. "I bet the view at the top is gonna be great!"

He ran along the branch, using is as a bridge to another tree and managed to stretch a good distance up the tree. However, as he landed on another branch he was greeted by a bunch of monkeys.

The animals all stared at him blankly and Luffy broke into a grin, "Awesome! The monkeys are huge too!" His grin faded and one of the monkeys approached him. The monkey stared at him, unblinking, and Luffy did the same.

This went on for a good few minutes, until the silence was finally broken by the monkey grabbing Luffy.

* * *

Finding Luffy was easier than I thought it would be; however, helping him was going to be something entirely different. We heard him yelling at something and followed it to see him, also shrunken, and being manhandled by a horde of monkeys, all of them seeing how far his rubber body can stretch.

Man, is it just me, or is everything on this island out to get my friends?

"Luffy!"

"Pika!"

"Let go of me! Stupid monkeys, I'm gonna kick your asses!" Luffy yells as he struggles to break free. Oh boy…

I use my tail to gently nudge Sanji, Zoro, and Nami off my back and leap into action. I climb the tree, jump towards the fray and make my tail iron. I give a few hard swings and the monkeys scatter, dropping Luffy. I quickly grab the back of his vest in my mouth and land safely, putting him on the ground.

"Hey! Pika-chan!" Luffy greets.

"Pika pika!" I respond.

"Whoa, look at you! When did you get so huge?!" Luffy says with wide excited eyes. I sweatdrop as he starts climbing all over me. "Everything on this island is huge! This is awesome!"

"Luffy!" We turn to see the others running towards us.

"Hey guys, when did you get here?" Luffy greets with a wave.

"We've been looking for you, dumbass." Zoro answers.

"Hey, have you seen all the cool big animals on this island?" Luffy asks.

"Of course we have, you idiot!" Nami snaps. "In fact we've been busy running from most of them!"

"And they're not big, we somehow shrunk," Sanji adds. "If everything on this island was naturally big, then Pika-chan wouldn't be this big compared to us."

Luffy stares at him before nodding, "So it's a Mystery Island." We all sigh in defeat; better than nothing. "Oh, where's Usopp?" Luffy asks.

"We're still looking for him." Zoro answers.

"Once we do, we're going back to the ship to figure out what happened to us." Nami adds.

Punctuating her sentence, a loud scream rang through the air. That can only belong to one person. "That was Usopp!" Luffy exclaims.

"Let's go!" Sanji urges. I crouch down and everyone clambers onto my back before I run through the forest, faster than ever.

The forest ends after a while and we find ourselves in a grassy plain overlooking a cliff; this must be the edge of the island. I can still hear Usopp but I can't see him...oh crap. I carefully make my way to the edge of the cliff and let the others down before peeking down.

Sure enough, Usopp is down there, sitting on a piece of stone, a good distance from the ocean below. "Usopp!" Nami yells frantically.

"Hold on!" Luffy rears his arm back and stretches towards Usopp; however, thanks to his small size, he can't reach him, causing his hand to fly back and smack him.

"Guys, get me up! Please, hurry!" Usopp pleads.

I look down the cliff and realize that there are a lot of rocks jutting out along the face. I can easily use those. I carefully slide down the edge of the cliff onto one and go from there, hopping from rock to rock. I carefully make my way down towards Usopp, but I have to hurry because the rock he's on is beginning to crumble. I take a flying leap, latch onto the cliff face and swing my tail down just as the rock holding Usopp completely crumbles.

Usopp clings to my tail, wrapping all four of his limbs around it, tears of fright pouring from his eyes. "Hope Island scary...Hope Island scary...Hope Island scary…" Oh man, I hope he's not too broken.

I easily climb back to the top of the cliff and it takes quite a bit of persuading to pry Usopp off my tail. "Land! Sweet land!" Usopp cries, kneeling and kissing the ground.

"So, it looks like everyone except Pika-chan shrunk." Sanji says.

Usopp looks up and realizes just how big I am compared to them, "Holy crap! We're no bigger than insects if Pika-chan is this big compared to us!"

"Do you think someone caused it deliberately?" Zoro asks.

"I think I might have something in my room," Nami says. "We should get back to the ship as soon as possible."

I nod and crouch down once again. Once all my friends are safely on my back, it's easy to find our way back to the Merry. We go down to Nami's room (me carrying everyone all the way) and I find the map of Hope Island.

We all gather around the map and Nami scans it over and over. "Nothing here says anything about shrinking; just the same stuff about Prayer Lake!" She says after a while.

"Wait...what if that's what caused it?" Usopp suggests. "You said that Prayer Lake can grant any wish or prayer; so what if we shrunk because someone wished us to be small?"

"But who would even make a wish like that?" Nami asks.

My eyes widen and my ears perk up as I remember when I was drinking from the creek; I thought that was in my head! Did the island really grant my wish? But how did it know when I didn't even say it out loud? My mind goes to the creek; I was drinking the water. Creeks come from a source of larger water; maybe that creek was actually made of water from Prayer Lake!

"Pika-chan!" I'm snapped out of my thoughts as Sanji calls me. Everyone's looking at me. "Do you have an idea of who did this?"

Oh man...time to face the music. I lower my head and let my ears droop, making the answer pretty clear.

"Wait...you made that wish?" Usopp exclaims. "You wished for us all to be small?" I nod, still looking at the ground.

"But why would you wish for that?" Nami asks.

"Wait." Sanji says. "Pika-chan...was it an accident?" I look at Sanji and nod; if I had known that the magic of Prayer Lake was real I wouldn't have left the ship in the first place.

"Even so, it was on your mind which is why we're like this." Zoro points out.

"It's because you're small." Luffy suddenly says. He's looking directly at me. "I bet you wanted to know what it as like to be big for a change, is that right?" I shrug but nod anyway; that's the closest answer they're gonna get.

"Wait, but if Pika-chan made a wish, that means you must've found Prayer Lake!" Nami points out. I shake my head in response; I didn't exactly find the lake, but I have an idea of where we can find it.

"Can you at least take us to where you made your wish?" Sanji asks.

I nod and gesture for them to get on my back. A few minutes later, we're running through the forest once again. I easily find the creek and point to it. Luckily, Nami, being the smartest one here, gets what happened. "I see, this creek must be from Prayer Lake."

"So we just follow the creek, and we'll find the lake." Sanji continues.

"Exactly!"

"So let's go! To Prayer Lake!" Luffy yells.

I follow the creek upstream until we finally reach what looks like a big cavern with a small hole where the water is leaking out. Everyone gets off my back and we walk through the hole one by one. Once we're through, we're greeted to a beautiful sight.

A giant lake sitting in the middle of a stone clearing, sparkling in the sun which is shining down from a hole right above it in the middle of the stone dome covering it. It looks almost heavenly; I can see why they called this place Prayer Lake.

I nod to the others and step up to the lake. I lean down and sip the water, closing my eyes, and saying my wish in my head. _'I wish my friends were back to normal.'_ The sun shining on the lake seems to grow brighter as I hear the wind blow sharply outside. After a few moments, the wind stops and I turn around to see my friends back to their normal heights.

"Alright! We're big again!" Luffy cheers.

"What a relief!" Nami agrees.

"I can't complain; being tall is awesome!" Usopp cheers.

I smile and walk towards them. "Whoa," Luffy breathes. "It's so weird; I was used to seeing you big and now you're small again."

"Don't be so blunt!" Usopp comments.

Sanji kneels down to my level, "Like that matters to us," He gives me a pat. "Big or small, you're still our Pika-chan."

I beam at him, "Pikachu!" I'll admit, it was fun being the big one for a change. And because of it, I actually feel a little bigger inside.

* * *

 **You gotta admit, with the main story being called 'The Smallest Straw Hat' how could this idea NOT come to my head? XD**


	4. Race

**Prompt: Race**

 **Set: After Drum**

 **Summary: Slow and steady wins the race...but going fast and furious is way more fun!**

* * *

Carue and I never really had much in common. Well, we both have human partners who we care about deeply and are willing to protect, but that's about it. But, just now, about a day after we left Drum, I now know that we have two things in common: speed.

I never really had a chance to see it firsthand, but Carue is _fast!_ Really fast! I was able to discover this when a storm managed to push us off course and beach us at a random island. It's uninhabited, thank Arceus, but there's really nothing here.

It's very jungle like and has a lot of plant life with a big mountain-like thing taking up the whole back half of the island, but ever since Little Garden, I've been wary of jungle-like areas. But on the bright side, we have a bonafide doctor on the crew now, so hopefully we won't have any cause for worry.

Anyway, the storm damaged the ship so Usopp tasked himself with fixing it as usual. He said it shouldn't take any longer than an hour and then we could continue on our way to Alabasta. Nami somehow manages to keep Luffy from wandering off into the island to find trouble but I have other plans.

I learned through Chopper that Carue's been getting a little stir crazy being on a ship for so long. He's apparently used to the wide open spaces of the desert where he can run freely. I gaze out at the island and decide, what better way to kill time than a little run? After all, we're not Luffy, we can go explore and be back in an hour, easily.

I go to Carue and gesture for him to come over and keep quiet. Carue comes over to me and I point to the island, "Pika pika." Carue gives a soft questioning squawk.

"Pika pi, pikachu." I say, pointing to him and me and running in a circle before pointing to the island again. Luckily, Carue gets it and nods in agreement. We glance to make sure no one's watching and we manage to leap off the boat and zoom out of sight into the jungle.

It's then that I learn just how fast Carue is. Carue squawks and gestures with his wing and starts to run. I smirk and run right by his side, but then he starts to pick up speed. I frown slightly and manage to keep up with him but Carue gives me a look and goes even faster. My frown grows and I run faster and soon, we're both zooming through the jungle.

Despite the obvious competition going on, I can tell that Carue is enjoying the challenge, and I am too. I've really never had anyone challenge my speed before because I've never really had a chance to use it in a fight yet. We then start to show off a bit, jumping and stepping over small obstacles and taking sharp turns without losing speed.

We even try things we haven't tried before while running. I try jumping over Carue and Carue tries jumping and stepping off the sides of tree trunks. Luckily, we're both successful and the adrenaline rush coming with our running isn't lost.

But right when we're getting to the peak of our race, we're stopped suddenly. Meaning that we both slammed into something. We both fly back onto the ground, moaning in pain and we look to see what we had hit. Oh wow, we reached the mountain already?

Wait...this thing looks too smooth to be a mountain.

Suddenly, the ground begins to shake. Carue and I look up and we both pale in fear, Carue letting out multiple fearful squawks. Two giant eyes appear on the mountain and it slowly lifts into the air off the island, the eyes honing in on us.

We don't wait to see what exactly the mountain is. Carue and I zoom back the way we came at top speed, fear now added to our initial adrenaline. Whatever time it took us to run to the mountain is cut in half as the ship comes into view.

"Pika-chan! Carue! Where have you been?" Vivi calls as she, Sanji, and Nami look out towards us from the ship. "We've been looking all over-"

"PIKA PIKA!" I scream while Carue lets out a loud squawk.

The rumbling finally catches the attention of the other Straw Hats and they look up behind us, paling as they put the pieces together. Usopp screams and scrambles up from the hull, abandoning the extra pieces of wood he had been repairing the ship with while Zoro quickly raises the anchor. Chopper runs in circles screaming while everyone else gets the ship ready to sail.

Carue and I take a flying leap as we near the ship and land on the deck. We practically slam into the side of the ship from our momentum. We both breathe heavily as the Merry quickly makes its getaway from the island.

After which we both look at each other and I let out a few breathy laughs while Carue still seems shell shocked by the whole ordeal. Well, maybe we'll have another chance to race when we got to Alabasta.

* * *

 **I decided to give Pika-chan and Carue a little nakamaship since they didn't get much of it in the main story X3 They actually have a lot in common, having Sanji and Vivi as their best friends who they would do anything for.**


	5. Egg I

**Alright, it's time for our very first AU in this story! This was actually one of the plot threats I had running around in my head when I was starting to write 'Smallest Straw Hat' so I decided this would be the best place to put it!**

 **Prompt: Egg (Part 1)**

 **Set: AU Pre-Voyage**

 **Summary: When Sanji finds a strange egg, his life will change forever...**

* * *

It was no secret that Sanji didn't really have friends.

Living in a restaurant with a bunch of adults came with that downside. Sure, kids came into the Baratie with their families, but Sanji's job mostly consisted of doing dishes, not allowing to go up and introduce himself. There was no way he would consider any of those stupid cooks his friends; they were adults and he was a kid, it just didn't work like that! Plus, they were rude, loud, and got mad at every little thing!

Sanji pushed the back door of the restaurant open with his back as he hauled a huge bag of trash out with him. It had been a whole years since the restaurant had opened and it was already making a huge name for itself among people and pirates. Every day was super busy, even for him despite being a stupid chore boy.

"Stupid geezer, not letting me cook…" Sanji muttered as he dragged the trash bag across the deck. He grunted and placed the bag among the many others and sighed. It was already dark outside; closing time would be soon.

Sanji gazed up at the starry sky as the ocean gently lapped below him. Whenever he looked at the stars, he thought of the All Blue. How big it probably was with too many fish to count, like the stars. He was going to find it one day, that was a given, but that wasn't his only wish.

Deep down, he wished he could have a friend. A real friend, who he could trust. Maybe in the future, when he grew up he would be able to find a friend like that. Zeff said that the ocean is a mysterious place, and that anything could happen. Who knew what could be waiting for him out there.

He turned to go back inside when he heard something tap the deck. He looked out at the dark ocean but didn't see anything.

 _Thunk! Thunk!_ There it was again!

Sanji wandered to the edge of the dock and looked down, finally seeing the source of the noise. It was a small wooden crate. But there was something inside it. Sanji carefully reached inside and his eyes widened as he felt something smooth and round. He got a good grip on it and managed to pull it out of the crate without dropping it; it wasn't that heavy. He stood up, one of the outside lights illuminating the objects and stared.

It was an egg. It was pale yellow with black on the bottom, coming up in a spiky pattern. It was a foot tall and smooth as marble; it looked like no egg Sanji had ever seen before. What kind of egg was it? What was inside it? Was it some kind of food from another island? It couldn't have been from the East Blue, all their food storage came from there; he knew every egg this side of the ocean had to offer and this was not it.

Then...could it be from a different ocean? His eyes widened at the thought; what if this egg was from the South, West, or North Blue? And it somehow ended up here, in the East Blue… "The All Blue…" he whispered.

Nodding with his resolve, he held the egg to his chest and entered the restaurant. He carefully snuck past the chefs and waiters, making sure to hide the egg from view as much as possible. He scurried up the stairs and ran to his room, slamming the door behind him.

He turned on his light and sat on his bed, holding the egg in his lap. He stared at it, slowly turning it around and looking it over. What kind of egg was this? Where did it come from? What was inside it? Was there even anything inside it?

"Sanji!" The boy jumped, nearly dropping the egg. "What are you doing in there?!"

"None of your business, you stupid geezer!" Sanji responded, quickly getting up and hiding the egg under his covers.

"Then get your ass back down here! Those dishes aren't gonna wash themselves!" Zeff yelled.

Sanji rolled his eyes and gave the hidden egg once last glance before hurrying out the door. He went to the kitchen where Zeff was waiting by the door, his arms folded. "I certainly hope you weren't off daydreaming again instead of doing your job."

"I wasn't!" Sanji responded sharply. "I'll daydream when I feel like it!"

"Is that any way to speak to your boss?" Zeff demanded. "Now get in there and get to work!" He grabbed Sanji by the back of his collar and practically threw him into the kitchen.

Sanji growled under his breath as he went to the sink but spared one more glance at the kitchen door, his mind still on that egg. The egg was still on his mind until the restaurant closed.

* * *

A week had passed since Sanji found that egg. Every day before going down to work, he wrapped it in a blanket and hid it under his bed. He was wary that anything would hatch from the egg since it had been floating on the ocean for god knows how long, but he couldn't help but take care of it while it was in his possession.

He had debated telling Zeff about it, thinking that the former pirate may have seen something like it on his voyage, but his lingering guilt from that fateful day stopped him. Zeff gave up his leg and his life as a pirate, as well as his shot at finding the All Blue just to save him. That peg leg was a constant reminder of that. Sanji couldn't bare to bring up memories of his sea travels, not now. He would figure out what the egg was himself.

However, no matter how many books he poured over, he couldn't find anything even resembling the egg. Sanji sat in his room, flipping through the pages of another book, detailing creatures and myths of the South Blue and gazed at the egg, sitting safely on his bed across from him. "Where did you come from?" He muttered.

"SANJI!" The boy leapt five feet in the air as the door to his room was slammed open by Patty. "What the hell is keeping you?! You're not slacking off again are you?!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sanji shot back. "Have you ever heard of knocking?!"

"Don't change the subject! You're supposed to be in the kitchen!"

"The restaurant's closed today, dumbass! I don't have to do anything!" Sanji retorted.

"That's no excuse, you-" Patty stopped short as his gaze moved from Sanji to the bed. Sanji's eyes widened in horror; he had forgotten to hide the egg!

"What the hell is that?" Patty demanded.

Sanji scrambled and moved in front of the egg, "N-Nothing!"

"Nothing my butt! Where did you get that egg?!" Patty said, stepping into the room fully. "You stole that from storage, didn't you?!"

"No way!" Sanji exclaimed. How dare he suggest that he would steal food?! And from his own restaurant! "I found it in the ocean!"

"Oh really?" Patty raised an eyebrow, taking a step towards him. "Then why is it in your room and not in storage?"

"I don't have to tell you anything!" Sanji snapped. "Now get out!"

Patty rolled his eyes and made towards the boy, "Hand it over Sanji; it's going in storage, where it belongs."

Thinking fast, Sanji grabbed the egg from behind him and bolted past Patty, "No way!" He made it to his doorway, holding the egg close to his chest. "I found it, so I decide what to do with it!" He was about to run to the hallway, when a big hand grabbed the back of his collar, lifting him into the air.

"It doesn't matter if you found it or not; food is food." Patty responded as Sanji still clutched the egg close. He reached out to take it but Sanji wouldn't have it. He swung himself in Patty's grasp and landed a good kick to the man's chin. Patty released Sanji with a yelp of pain and Sanji landed before taking off down the hallway. Patty gave chase and Sanji unconsciously held the egg tighter as he hurried down the stairs.

"Get back here!" Patty yelled, making it to the stairs by the time Sanji reached the bottom.

"Make me, shitty cook!" Sanji yelled. Patty chased Sanji a good few times around the empty main floor until Sanji ran back up the stairs. Without thinking, he ran into the kitchen, bending slightly as he ran to help keep the egg hidden. He turned to make sure Patty wasn't following him when he slammed into something hard. He fell to the ground, making sure to land on his back and saw a peg leg enter his vision.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Zeff shouted, glaring down at Sanji.

At that moment, Patty burst into the kitchen, spying Sanji on the ground. "There you are!" He stormed over and picked Sanji off the ground by the back of his collar again. "Enough running Sanji; hand it over!"

"No way!" Sanji yelled, kicking with renewed vigor.

"Mind telling me what this is all about?" Zeff growled.

Patty grinned proudly, "I just found out that Sanji here has been stealing food from storage!" He announced, pointing to the egg in Sanji's grasp. "I was just trying to return it where it belonged!"

"I did not!" Sanji yelled, squirming in Patty's grip. "I didn't steal it; I found it!"

Zeff's eyes narrowed, slightly intrigued by the notion, "Where did you find it then?"

"In the ocean, in a box!" Sanji answered before glaring at Patty. "I found it so it's mine! I decide what happens to it; I don't care what you say!" Sanji was suddenly cut off as the egg started to glow. Everyone gasped and Patty dropped Sanji in shock. Sanji managed to land on his feet, taking the egg away from his chest.

"W-What's going on?" Sanji asked.

"Something's up with that egg!" Patty exclaimed.

"Get rid of it Sanji! It might be dangerous!" Carne yelled. However, Sanji couldn't help but stare at the egg as the light became brighter. The egg felt warm and he swore he felt something pulsating from within; it was like it was alive.

Sanji flinched slightly as the egg moved before glowing brighter. Realization suddenly hit Sanji, "I think...it's hatching!" The chefs all watched as the egg continued to glow and grew warmer in Sanji's grasp. The smooth shell suddenly shifted, making Sanji rearrange his hold on it. He wasn't sure what was going on, but whatever he was holding wasn't an egg anymore.

The glow finally began to slowly fade, and revealed the egg's inhabitant. It was a mouse...or, at least it looked like a mouse. It was barely a foot tall and was a pale yellow, just like the egg shell. It had triangular shaped ears with black along the edges, a little black tail, and a black stripe around its collar, complete with tiny pink cheeks.

Sanji could only stare at the tiny creature in his arms; it felt and looked so...so...tiny. So fragile. So vulnerable. "What the hell is that thing?" Patty asked.

Sanji didn't respond as the tiny creature began to stir. "Chu…" It breathed as it slowly opened its eyes, revealing tiny black orbs. It then slowly lifted its head, "Pichu…?" It fully opened its eyes and stared at Sanji.

Sanji simply stared back and a small smile worked its way onto his face. "Uh...hi." He said softly.

The creature blinked at him and Sanji blinked back. "Pichu." The creature said, tilting its head ever so slightly. The silence in the kitchen was almost deafening as Sanji and the creature just stared at each other, taking in every detail of each other.

Finally, Sanji spoke, "What...what are you?"

"Pichu?" The creature asked. "Pichu pichu."

Sanji frowned, "Is that all you can say?"

"Chu."

"So your name is Pichu?"

"Pichu!"

"Well, I'm Sanji."

"Pichu pi!" Sanji couldn't keep the smile off his face as the creature was practically beaming. He had no idea what this thing was or where it came from, all he knew was that it was here and...it liked him.

"Pichu! Pichu pichu!" The creature squealed, reaching up towards him with tiny arms, its wide smile still on its face. Sanji giggled and wiggled his finger in front of it, making the creature grab it happily. It was then that Sanji remember that this thing was a baby; it was born no less than two minutes ago.

"Boss...what the hell is that thing?" Carne whispered as the chefs were still shell shocked at the presence of the small creature.

"I don't know." Zeff answered. "But whatever it is, it looks like the eggplant has another job cut out for him."

"What do you mean?" Carne asked.

Zeff didn't answer as the creature's stomach suddenly growled. "Oh, are you hungry?" Sanji asked. The creature frowned and nodded, tears starting to come to its eyes. Sanji glanced around the kitchen; what would be good for a baby to eat?

"Pichu…" He looked at the creature and saw that it was reaching for something. He followed it and saw a bowl of red apples sitting on the counter. He made his way over and took one of the apples out of the bowl, but hesitated; was this really okay for a newborn baby to eat?

The answer was given to him as Pichu sat up and took the apple from his grasp. It smelled it for a second before biting into it. "Pichu pichu!" I squealed happily and continued eating. Sanji smiled in relief; at least they had something it could eat.

"Boss, you're not suggesting that we keep this thing?" Patty said, pointing at the creature. In response, Pichu whimpered and curled into Sanji more in fright.

"We don't have much choice." Zeff responded. "Considering that little pipsqueak sees the brat as it's parent."

"Huh?!" Sanji exclaimed. "Parent?!"

Zeff smirked, "What, did you think the pipsqueak liked you because of your good looks?" He asked, giving the back of Sanji's head a smack. "You were the first thing it saw after hatching, so that means it's your responsibility whether you like it or not."

Sanji looked back down at Pichu who had finished the apple. It dropped the core and sighed in content before curling and nuzzling against Sanji and falling asleep. Zeff was right; this thing really was attached to him.

"From now on, it's your job to raise it, on top of doing your chores." Zeff said, turning to leave. "And if it causes trouble, I'll kick both your asses."

Sanji's eyes widened, "What?! That's not fair!"

"You wanted to keep the egg Sanji." Patty pointed out. "What exactly did you say? I found so I decide what to do with it?"

"Shut up!" Sanji snapped and the chefs all burst into laughter. Sanji bit his lip and looked down at the sleeping creature; what had he just gotten himself into?

* * *

 **Not to worry, I'll post Part 2 tomorrow or the day after whenever I can X3**

 **I remember how tempted I was to make this the beginning of 'Smallest Straw Hat', but I ended up scrapping it because knowing me, I'd probably end up doing a copy of the Fairy Tail Edolas plot. Yes, it would be cute, but unoriginal. (damn that anime for having so many good plots and so many similarities to One Piece; but I still love it!)**


	6. Egg II

**Alright, time for Part 2! This AU is seriously too cute to write! I'm gonna have to train myself to get out of this mindset so I can go back to writing Pika-chan in the main story! XD**

 **Prompt: Egg (Part 2)**

 **Set: AU Pre-Voyage**

 **Summary: As Sanji's new little friend grows, he finds that it comes packed full of surprises that he can't explain...**

* * *

Taking care of Pichu definitely had its ups and downs. For one thing, the mouse was pretty smart. It understood Sanji and did what it was told, never causing trouble. But that was mostly because it followed Sanji around like a duckling. The thing never left his heels!

Another nice thing was that it was slowly but surely learning to take care of itself, knowing where and how to get food without having to ask Sanji. Unfortunately that meant Sanji was usually to blame when multiple apples went missing from the kitchen. The other chefs were slowly warming up to Pichu, but how could they not when Pichu always looked and acted so innocent.

And, though Sanji would never admit it out loud, he really loved having Pichu around. Whenever it was a day off, Sanji finally had someone to talk to and play with. Pichu slept next to him every night and comforted him whenever he had nightmares about that fateful day. He could tell Pichu anything and it would listen without complaint. He felt important when something scared Pichu causing it to come running straight to him and no one else.

He'd be lying if he didn't consider Pichu his best and only friend. His wish had come true.

He honestly didn't know what could make having Pichu as a friend any better. That answer came to him about a month after Pichu hatched.

A gang of pirates had stopped by for some food and they had eventually tried to plunder the customers. All the waiters had run to the safety of the kitchen and the cooks all went out to deal with the problem.

Sanji really wanted to join in the fray; he had been practicing Zeff's Red Leg Style for well over a year now and he wanted to see what he could do. He started to make his way down the stairs when he spotted Pichu following him. He quickly placed the mouse at the top of the stairs and pointed to it, "Stay here, okay?" He said. "It's dangerous down there; I'll be back soon."

Pichu looked a bit unsure, but nodded regardless, obedient as ever. Sanji nodded back and headed back down the stairs, watching all the while to make sure Pichu didn't follow him.

Once he reached the bottom, he wasted no time. He managed to pick out some weak looking pirates and he easily took them out with a few well aimed kicks to either the head or stomach. Sanji smirked as he downed his third victim; this was easier than it looked! And it actually felt fun! He ran towards another weak looking pirate when something collided with the back of his head.

Stars exploded in his vision and the floor quickly rushed up to meet him. Sanji blinked and desperately tried to clear his head, seeing a menacing figure hulking over him. "So you like to kick people, eh?" Before he could get his bearings back he felt a foot collide with his stomach, sending him flying into the wall. "How do you like a taste of your own medicine?" The pirate sneered.

Sanji looked up just in time to see a sword glinting in the light, pointing right at him. Sanji whimpered softly, finding himself petrified where he lay. This was the first time he had felt this scared ever since that storm on The Orbit. But this time, the pirate was dead set on killing him. The pirate laughed and raised his sword and Sanji closed his eyes as it began its descent.

"PICHU!"

Sanji opened his eyes just in time to see something small and yellow latch onto the pirate's face. The pirate backed away from Sanji and swung his sword wildly, completely lost. "Pichu!" Sanji exclaimed.

The pirate reached up to grab the mouse, but Pichu jumped out of the way just in time. It landed on the pirate's arm and glared angrily before lunging towards the pirate's face once more. "Pichu chu!" The mouse cried, raising its paws.

Sanji watched in amazement as the mouse began to flail wildly at the pirate, but instead of the blows doing next to nothing, they were causing the pirate to stumble. It looked and sounded like Pichu was outright smacking him with the strength of the full grown adult. Pichu gave the pirate one final smack and sent him flying across the room into a table. Sanji stared as Pichu landed, satisfied with its victory.

The mouse then turned to him, a bright smile crossing its face, "Pichu!" It ran towards him and leapt on his chest, nuzzling him. "Pichu pi! Pichu!"

Sanji slowly wrapped his arms around the mouse, still amazed at what had happened. It then occurred to Sanji that Pichu was probably worried about him for putting himself in danger like that. "Sorry I worried you…" he said softly. Pichu looked up at him before giving him a lick on the cheek. Sanji swallowed and hugged the mouse tighter, "Thank you Pichu; you saved my life."

"Pichu!" The mouse responded happily, looking up at him with bright eyes. It was almost as if it was saying _'Of course; that's what friends do!'_

"You...little...pest!"

Sanji was snapped out of his reverie and looked up just in time to see a hand coming towards him. The next thing he knew, Pichu was snatched from his arms and being lifted into the air by the same pirate from earlier.

"Pichu!" Sanji cried as the mouse squealed in pain, being picked up by one of its ears. Pichu cried and whined as it flailed desperately in the pirate's grip, tears of pain coming to its eyes.

Sanji grit his teeth as anger filled him like boiling lava. "Let go of my friend!" He yelled, landing a hard kick to the pirate's stomach. The pirate gasped and dropped Pichu, but Sanji wasn't fast enough to get away from the now very angry pirate. He choked as the pirate grabbed him by the neck, lifting him into the air.

"I was taking it easy on you before kid." The pirate growled. "But now I'm going to enjoy ripping you to pieces, bit by bit." Sanji choked and gasped as the grabbed at the pirate's thick fingers around his thin neck.

"Pichu!"

He managed to open his eye slightly, seeing Pichu on the ground behind the pirate, close to tears from pure fright. "P-Pi...chu…" Sanji gasped as his eyes started to roll back into his head.

Pichu whimpered as panic grew in its system. Sanji was in trouble! It had to do something! Pichu sniffed and whimpered before taking a deep breath and crying as loud as it could.

Sanji felt air rush back into his lungs as the pirate suddenly dropped him. He coughed and struggled to get his breath back as a loud pitched noise slowly filled his ears. He looked at Pichu, seeing the mouse sitting on the ground, tears streaming down its face. Was it crying? No, it wasn't crying; when a baby cried it didn't make the room shake! You could practically see the sound waves as Pichu screamed.

It wasn't long before the windows completely shattered and any glasses that somehow survived the fight up to this point were rendered nothing but shards. Sanji looked around and noticed that himself and the other chefs weren't being affected by the sound. Only the pirates were writhing in agony as they clapped their hands over their ears to try and drown out the sound.

Sanji stared at the mouse; just what kind of creature was this?!

After many moments, Pichu finally stopped and the sound disappeared. Pichu sniffed and rubbed its eyes, swallowing the last of its sobs when its eyes fell on Sanji. It immediately brightened on seeing that its friend was alright. "Pichu!" It cried and started towards him.

Sanji's eyes widened as he saw the pirate recover from the sound attack. "Pichu! Get away!" Sanji yelled, but it was too late. The pirate swatted Pichu away with his foot, easily sending the little mouse flying to the middle of the room. "Pichu!" Sanji cried as the mouse hit a table and slid to the ground.

The pirate stormed towards Pichu as the little mouse struggled to get up. "I've had it...up to _here_ with this damn thing!" The pirate yelled. Pichu whimpered as the pirate glared down at it. "I think it's time this restaurant got a little pest control; and I'm gonna enjoy squeezing the life out of you."

Pichu whined as backed against the table, causing Sanji to spring into action. "Leave it alone-" He was cut off as the pirate whirled around and backhanded him, sending him flying to the ground. Sanji bit his lip as his cheek stung from the blow and turned as the pirate approached his friend. "No!"

"Pichu!" The mouse cried fearfully as the pirate laughed and reached towards it. Pichu squealed as the pirate lifted it up in his giant fist, squeezing it tightly. Pichu cried and squirmed but it couldn't escape.

Sanji squeezed his eyes shut, "PICHU!"

"...What the-?" Sanji opened his eyes to see that the pirate was still holding Pichu, but that wasn't all. The mouse's eyes were shut tight and it looked like it was concentrating. It was then that Sanji noticed something bright coming from Pichu's cheeks.

Were those...sparks?

A split second later, a bright light enveloped Pichu and the whole restaurant was filled with lightning. Sanji curled into a ball and covered his eyes as lightning and electricity danced around him. After a few moments, Sanji dared to open his eyes and his was amazed by the sight. Lightning was surrounding Pichu and the pirate holding it, while lightning flew around and burned everything in sight.

After what felt like forever, the lightning finally died down. The pirate dropped Pichu and the mouse shakily landed on its feet while the pirate collapsed along with the rest of his crew, completely burned to a crisp. Sanji slowly got to his feet, taking in the damage as silence now enveloped the area. Zeff and the rest of the chefs were okay, but they sported a few burns from some stray lightning bolts.

Sanji looked down at himself and realized that he didn't have a scratch on him. He looked at Pichu and his eyes widened to see that the mouse was staggering on its feet. It looked exhausted and lightning was still slightly surrounding it. A few seconds later, the mouse keeled over.

"Pichu!" Sanji ran over to his friend and knelt down beside it. "Pichu! Can you hear me? Are you okay?" He called, gently picking it up and cradling it.

To his delight, the mouse slowly opened its eyes and offered him a weak smile. "Pi...pichu…"

Sanji grinned in relief and hugged the mouse close to his chest. "I'm so sorry Pichu…" he whispered. "If I hadn't decided to fight then none of this…"

"Pichu." The mouse nuzzled against him and gave him a small kiss. The look in its eyes said that it didn't blame Sanji in the slightest. In response, Sanji hugged Pichu tighter. Pichu really was a true friend; a friend that Sanji couldn't be more happy to have.

* * *

Ever since that day, Sanji and Pichu's bond had grown stronger than ever. Even people who never met them could tell that those two had a connection like no other. A few days after the fight, Zeff told Sanji (or rather ordered him) to train Pichu and teach to fight properly so as not to wreck the restaurant again.

That was certainly a challenge, especially when trying to control Pichu's lightning. Sanji managed to help Pichu concentrate its electricity to one point, but no matter how hard they tried, Pichu couldn't stop from shocking itself and anything else in the immediate area. Pichu was frustrated by this, but Sanji reassured it that it was because it was still young and had a lot to learn, and that seemed to help.

Pichu's other moves were easy to control, like the screaming and that flailing maneuver, and Pichu got the most practice in when fights broke out. Pichu and Sanji were a force to be reckoned with as each fight helped them grow tougher and more skilled. They watch each other's backs and were always there for each other if things got rough.

The two were growing together, and growing ever closer. By that point, Sanji was certain he had Pichu figured out. But four years later, Sanji found out that he was sorely mistaken.

By that point, Sanji was fifteen and Pichu was no longer the sniffling baby it used to be. Despite it's small size and cute face, it could actually be pretty threatening in a fight.

Anyway, it was during another fight but this time it took place outside. An especially large pirate crew had dropped by so the Baratie raised the fins for more ground. Thankfully, the fins provided the perfect fighting ground for the rowdy crew so Zeff didn't have to worry about the interior getting destroyed again. Sanji and Pichu had both jumped into the fray and it was going well.

Until, a particularly sneaky pirate decided to pull a pistol on Sanji while he wasn't looking. Pichu was on the other side of the fin, too far away to run over and help. It had no choice; it had to use a lightning attack. But Sanji was too close; Pichu could hit him too! Pichu grit its teeth; it had to help! If it didn't do something, then Sanji would-!

Pichu took a deep breath and faced the pirate; it had to concentrate! Sparks flew from its cheeks and it locked its gaze on the pirate who's finger was nearing the trigger. Pichu charged up, focused its energy on the target, and let loose. A stream of lightning shot through the fight and Sanji turned just in time to see the pirate be hit by a perfectly aimed lightning bolt.

Sanji turned to Pichu who was glaring at the fallen pirate in triumph. "Pichu!" It yelled loudly.

And then, it began to glow.

Sanji and the other chefs and even the pirates stopped and stared as a white light completely enveloped the little mouse. "Pichu?" Sanji asked.

Sanji watched as the mouse began to slowly grow. It's ears became elongated and pointed, its tail became longer, and its tiny arms and body became more refined. Finally, the light faded revealing a completely different creature.

This one was a much richer yellow, with pointy ears and black on the top. It's tail looked like a lightning bolt and black stripes now donned its back along with red cheeks.

"Pikachu!" The creature exclaimed with vigor. Before anyone could say anything, the creature jumped to the air, sparks flying from its cheeks. Lightning rained down on the pirates, hitting each one accurately and not one stray bolt hitting a chef or any innocent bystander. The pirates all toppled to the ground and the creature landed, "Pika pika!" Sanji flinched as the creature then ran towards him, a huge smile on its face.

Sanji knelt down, taking in its appearance. "Pichu…?" He asked.

The creature shook its head, "Pikachu! Pika pika!"

"What...what happened to you?" Sanji asked.

"Pika pi, pika pikachu." The mouse responded, gesturing to itself.

"So...your name is Pikachu now?"

The mouse nodded, "Pikachu!"

Sanji still looked a little stunned so the mouse decided to take action. It leapt onto Sanji's shoulder and nuzzled his cheek.

Sanji took the mouse off his shoulder and held it in front of him getting a good look at it. He stared at its black eyes and the creature gave him a big smile, causing Sanji to smile back. Despite the sudden change in appearance, this, without a doubt, was still the same creature from before. So what if it looked different? It was still his best friend that hatched out of that mystery egg.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu squealed and Sanji gave it a hug. Pikachu gave him a kiss on the cheek and nuzzled against him like it always did before. The new appearance and name would take some getting used to, but all that mattered was that Sanji still had his friend by his side, and always would, no matter what.

* * *

 ***desperately tries not to think about what the main story would've been like in this AU* ...Being a writer is hard... TTATT**

 **Oh and for any curious souls: Pichu's move set is Flail, Disarming Voice, and Thunderbolt (had to check Egg moves for those)**

 **And yes, it took Pichu five years to evolve because it requires max happiness. And since it's growing and learning out of its natural environment with no other Pokémon around, it took much longer, ESPECIALLY growing up in the BARATIE of all places! XD**


	7. Cosplay

**We have our first prompt by a reader! It was from a Guest reviewer but it was still a ton of fun to write! Thanks for the suggestion!**

 **Prompt: Cosplay**

 **Set: After Alabasta**

 **Summary: When shopping sprees get too carried away...**

* * *

Shopping is something I'm slowly starting to despise. Mostly because there's hardly any shopping involved when we actually do it. Nami has a strict budget for each of us which usually results in Luffy, Usopp, and Zoro just browsing; Sanji ends up completely forgetting about shopping the second a pretty girl walks by, and Nami always buys tons of pointless junk which results in us being stuck in one store forever!

Robin and Chopper are the only ones who are actually productive with their shopping time but Robin always goes off on her own when no one's looking and Chopper freaks out the second someone looks at him funny or mistakes him for a racoon dog. That or the two of them end up staying on the ship (depending on whether Zoro's napping or not).

So of course, I, not ever wanting to stay cooped up on a ship, end up shopping with either the flirt, the hoarder, or the idiot twins, resulting in not a very good day, resulting in a sour mood, which usually ends up with me either shocking somebody or waiting for a storm or fight to happen so can vent. I know Chopper gave me that journal to vent, but this is something that writing can't fix.

Today, I end up shopping with Nami, oh joy. And of course, the first place we end up, is a clothes shop. My ears droop as we enter the place; it's way bigger on the inside and clothes are lining almost every square inch of the place.

I knew I should've brought my journal; at least then I'd have something to do!

Once Nami picks out her multiple outfits, I sit by the dressing room she's in and sigh; I'm in for another long day. But after a while, my eyes fall on a clothes section right next to me. From the sizes of the clothes, it's a section for babies and young children.

My eyes slowly move down the aisle and I start to see multiple different outfits. I move closer to them, frowning as each one is detailed and bright, like someone put a lot of thought into it. They're so flashy that they look more like costumes than clothes kids would wear every day.

Finally, my attention lands on a black t-shirt with a blue and white jacket. Without thinking, I slip them on and I spy a red and white hat with a green symbol on the front. I put it on, planting it nicely between my ears and I walk up to a mirror.

I...actually don't look to bad. I turn the hat backwards and strike a pose of victory; yeah, I could totally pull this off!

In the reflection of the mirror, I see another outfit. I put my outfit away and put on the new one; a red and white jacket with a yellow backpack and a red hat with only a white brim and a small half circle on the front. This one makes looks a lot more serious than the last one. I turn to the side and cast a glare into the mirror, the brim of my hat casting a shadow over my face.

After a few moments, I burst into giggles and my eyes fall on yet another outfit. This time, it's a white blouse with a blue collar, a big red bow, and a blue skirt with a pair of white gloves along with a (fake) golden tiara.

I twirl in the mirror and flash a peace sign with a wink when I hear a giggle. I turn in horror to see Nami, watching from a distance, her hand over her mouth trying to suppress her laughter. I turn bright red and childishly take off the tiara, holding it behind my back even though the rest of the outfit is still on my body.

Nami finally laughs and walks towards me, "You shouldn't have stopped; you looked like you were having fun!" She comments. She kneels down in front of me, "You looked good in all three of those outfits." She says making me blush deeper. She saw the whole thing?!

Nami rubs my ears, "Hey, it's nothing to be embarrassed about." She reassures.

"Pika?" _'Really?'_

"However, I'll give you a few pointers on how to model clothes properly." She holds up one finger. "First, music; you can't have a montage without it." A smile slowly makes its way to my face as Nami picks out a few more outfits in my size.

The next thing I know, I'm standing on a table a ways away from another mirror and trying on multiple outfits. The amount of clothes are pretty much endless as music blares through the store, Nami having cranked up the volume. Nami helps me change into different outfits and suggests different poses when I can't come up with any myself.

I clap my paws together as Nami points a fan in my direction, making my red trench coat flow behind me with my black clothes underneath.

I swing a tiny toy scythe, my black trencoat and plaid skirt flowing gracefully with my movement.

I do a few dance moves and poses as my pink and white ribbons move with my ears and sparkle with the pink and white dress I'm wearing next to Nami who's wearing a matching outfit.

I rock out on air guitar in a red and black rocker music outfit.

I flex and do a few wrestling moves in my black and yellow wrestler outfit.

I throw punches and do a few flips in my black and white jumpsuit complete with a black headband with a metal plate on it.

I pretend to fire an energy blast as I wear an orange gi and blue wrist and ankle bands.

After a while, a decent sized crowd has formed inside the store, all dedicated to watching my show. I put on a white lab coat and graduate hat along with a huge pair of glasses before pulling up a white board and filling it with equations, completely capturing the character.

Everyone cheers loudly as I put on a billowy blue dress with a pale yellow bonnet and I bat my eyes acting shy.

As I put on a white dress shirt and a red tie I spy Nami near the front of the audience, a jingling bag in her hands. I gape; is she collecting money off of me?! Well, at least she's not robbing them...no actually, she kinda is… ah whatever.

I hold a small black book to my chest and give an evil laugh with a hard glare, making the audience cheer loudly once again.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise."

Nami and I freeze and turn to see the rest of the crew staring at the display. "Mind telling us what the hell you're doing?" Zoro asks, his eyes narrow in suspicion.

Nami and I exchange a glance before laughing nervously, Nami hiding the bag of money behind her back. "Just having a little fashion show."

"Pika pika!"

"Fashion show?" Chopper asks innocently.

"But then why is Pika-chan wearing all the clothes?" Usopp asks.

"Turns out Pika-chan has quite a knack for modeling." Nami answers.

I rub the back of my head, "Pikachu…"

Nami then turns to me, "Go on, show 'em what you can do!"

I nod excitedly and quickly put on my next outfit. I swing two little plastic swords with precision, while wearing a white shirt and a tiny brown jacket with a wing design on the back. The crowd roars and the rest of the crew actually look impressed. "See? It's a natural!" Nami exclaims.

"Pika-chan looks so cool!" Chopper squeals, his eyes sparkling.

"Wait up Pika-chan! I wanna try!" Luffy exclaims.

I smile with joy as I put on a purple kimono and don two fans. A few seconds later, Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper are on the table with me, all wearing matching kimonos and dancing next to me, making the crowd go even more wild. But before we can put on another outfit…

"There he is! Straw Hat Luffy!" We all freeze in terror as Marines stand in the entrance of the store. "Get them men! Don't let them escape!"

Well, looks like playtimes over! We all bolt from the table, discarding our outfits as we go and quickly slip out a back door.

As we run back to the Merry, Nami eyes her full bag of money with gleeful eyes, "Best shopping spree ever!"

"Pikachu!" I agree with a laugh and we run down the road, the Marines hot on our tail.

* * *

 **This was WAY too much fun to write. Like way too much. I was grinning like an idiot the whole time I was writing this. It doesn't help that Cosplay Pikachu is literally my favorite thing in Pokémon ORAS.**

 **ALL MY FELLOW ANIME NERDS, HOW MANY CHARACTERS CAN YOU NAME?**


	8. Ketchup

**We have another request from a Guest reviewer! Thanks for the idea!**

 **Title: Ketchup**

 **Set: After Alabasta**

 **Summary: Sanji gets suspicious when a specific object keeps vanishing from his kitchen...**

* * *

"Dammit, not again…" Sanji muttered as he slammed the pantry door. Once again, the ketchup was missing. Whenever he needed it the whole damn bottle always seemed to vanish, forcing him to either prepare the meal without it, or get another bottle from storage. He thankfully had gotten over two dozen bottles in Alabasta, and always made sure to get a good amount whenever they visited an island, but that didn't change the fact that those missing bottles were being wasted!

Sanji stormed out of the kitchen, "This is the third bottle this week; I'm gonna kick him twice as hard for this!" He growled. He slammed the kitchen door and easily spied Luffy playing on the main deck with Usopp and Chopper.

"Oh hey, Sanji!" Luffy greeted, completely oblivious to the death glare the chef was giving him. "Is the food ready ye-"

Sanji gave him a hard kick, leaving a Luffy-sized dent in the wall. "I have had it up to here with you!" Sanji yelled.

Chopper squealed and ran for cover, "Scary Sanji!"

Luffy slowly peeled off the wall and sat up, "What was that for?" He asked with a pout.

"How many times do I have to kick your skull to get you to stop stealing from my kitchen?!" Sanji demanded.

"What?" Luffy tilted his head. "I didn't take anything."

"Cut the crap!" Sanji grabbed the front of Luffy's vest and lifted him up. "The ketchup has been going missing ever since we left Alabasta!"

"Ketchup? You mean that red stuff you can put on meat?" Luffy asked. He then looked away in thought for a solid few seconds. "Hmm, nope. I didn't take it."

"Quit lying to me and tell the truth already!" Sanji yelled.

"I'm not lying! I didn't do anything!" Luffy retorted.

"Oh really? Who else on this ship would steal food from my kitchen!"

"Well, you're not pinning this on me!"

Sanji glanced at Chopper and Usopp, who instantly cowered in fear. It was pretty clear that they weren't the culprits. They knew that it was worse to hide things from Sanji instead of coming clean.

"Would you two keep it down already?" Nami appeared from the front of the ship. "And Luffy, just own up and admit that you stole from the kitchen."

"But I didn't do it!" Luffy continued to protest.

"If I may step in." Everyone stopped as Robin closed her book. "Has anyone noticed that Pikachu is absent from the discussion?" Everyone's eyes widened as they realized she was right. Pika-chan hadn't said a word the entire time; in fact, it wasn't even present on the deck.

Everyone looked at each other and slowly began putting the pieces together. They opened the porthole to the men's quarters and slid down, to find Pika-chan, sitting in the middle of tons of empty ketchup bottles, all of them stacked as if it was making a makeshift fortress out of them.

Pika-chan squealed happily as it drank the remaining drops of ketchup from the bottle in its paws, most likely the one that Sanji found missing today. Everyone stared at the sight, mostly shocked that Pika-chan had been getting away with this for so long. Well, Sanji had said before that Pika-chan was practically a bandit.

"Maybe you should get a lock for the pantry." Usopp commented, breaking the silence. Everyone silently agreed as Pika-chan placed the newly empty bottle on the very top off the tallest arrangement of bottles.

Sanji made a mental note; keep an eye on both Luffy and Pika-chan when it comes to food theft.


	9. Overload

**Alright guys, get ready cause this is a long one! I had this one on my mind for a while and finally managed to finish it when a reviewer Sirina from 'The Smallest Straw Hat' wondered about Pika-chan absorbing too much electricity. Thankfully, the anime has all the info you need on Pokémon illness! Good to know that show is good for something!**

 **Oh yes, and don't forget, even though this is technically filler, you can gladly tie it into the main story if you wish. I might even subtly refer to some filler stuff in the main story in the future. Just letting you know.**

 **And now, all you whump fans, get ready for some fluffy sick hurt/comfort!**

* * *

 **Prompt: Overload**

 **Set: After Rainbow Mist**

 **Summary: Pika-chan's the last person the Straw Hats expected to get sick; and to make matters worse, Chopper's not on the boat!**

* * *

"Aw c'mon Nami!"

"I said no!"

I cringe as Nami's voice seems to be getting louder while more and more bumps appear on Luffy's head. We're currently docking at a new island; after the fiasco on Luluka we're in desperate need of medical supplies and we don't want to be lacking if we run into trouble on the way to Jaya.

"But I wanna go out too! There could be adventure out there!" Luffy whines.

"I told you a million times and I'll tell you a million more; the answer's no!" Nami retorts. "This island is crawling with Marines; if either you, Robin or Zoro go out in public they'll see you in under a minute!"

"Then we'll just beat them up." Luffy says with a shrug. I watch as Luffy's arm slowly makes its way off the boat, probably looking for something to hold onto to propel him into the town and away from Nami.

"Not with hundreds of people around you won't!" Nami yells, giving him one more smack. The hit causes his arm to stop stretching and come flying back towards him. However, in his haste to keep it from hitting himself, it ends up whipping around and smacking me right in the back of the head. I squeal as I fall right off the railing and headfirst onto the hard deck before holding my head and slowly getting up.

"It's already decided; we're only short on medicine so Chopper's going alone. You're staying and that's final." Nami says. Luffy whines again but doesn't protest, seeing that he's already lost the battle.

"Are you sure you'll be alright on your own Doctor?" Robin asks as Chopper gets his backpack on.

"I'm sure." He says confidently before grinning. "And if I get into trouble I'll just scream really loud!"

"That's the spirit!" Usopp cheers. My ears droop; that's not exactly the kind of motivation I'd look for.

Chopper leaps off the ship and heads for the town, "I'll be back soon!" He says with a wave. I wave back and Chopper vanishes into the town. He'll be fine; it's just shopping after all, and the Marines don't even know him.

Once he disappears from sight, things go back to normal on the ship. Sanji cooks some snacks for everyone, Usopp distracts Luffy in his own special way, Zoro naps, Nami does some mapmaking, and Robin reads. I notice that the head of the Merry is empty so I decide to take a nap.

However, it isn't long before my ears twitch as a cool wind washes over me. I open my eyes to see ominous dark clouds rolling in over the island. I quickly run to the lower door and push it open, "Pikachu!" _'Nami, we have a problem!'_

Nami turns from the map she's hanging up and is able to see the clouds behind me. She runs out with me and stands still; she's probably feeling for how bad the weather's gonna get. She quickly rushes over to Zoro and gives him a kick that would make Sanji proud, "Get up!" She snaps.

"What?" Zoro grumbles sleepily.

"A storm's coming; we need to make sure the ship doesn't take any damage!" Nami answers. "You guys too!" She calls to Luffy and Usopp who have seen the storm clouds as well. "Since we're not on the open sea, the waves shouldn't be a problem, but there's going to be heavy rain and a lot of lightning." She sends me a look, "Pika-chan, you know what to do."

I nod. Looks like I have to play my part on the ship once again as the crew's lightning rod. Everyone runs around making sure the sails and the anchor stay stable and that the ship isn't being bumped into the rocks we docked next to and I keep a sharp eye out for lightning. Only a few come towards the ship and I catch them easily, but for some reason, I feel really heavy afterwards.

I feel like my whole body is heating up, so the rain feels really nice. Luckily, the storm passes quickly and soon it's sunny again like nothing happened. I hope Chopper was able to find shelter from the storm. It's then that I realize that I'm breathing heavily. I feel exhausted and dizzy, like I'm...overloaded? But how can that be? I only absorbed a few bolts…

My vision blurs and I start to sway on my feet before everything goes dark.

* * *

Nami sighed in content as she sipped a warm tangerine drink in the galley, her raincoat drying nearby. Sanji had made everyone warm drinks to help warm everyone up from the sudden storm. Sanji kept the kettle on the stove so he could make something for Chopper when he came back. The reindeer had fur so if he got caught in the rain he'd be soaked to the skin.

Just then, the door to the galley slammed open, "Guys! We have a problem!" Usopp looked frantic, his eyes wide with fear, putting both Sanji and Nami on alert.

"Is it Marines?" Nami asked.

"No, it's...it's Pika-chan!"

Sanji started at the mention of his partner and followed Usopp out of the galley without a word, Nami not far behind. They ran to the main deck where the yellow mouse lay on its side, unmoving. Robin was kneeling over it, a hand on the mouse's head and a light frown crossing her usually calm face.

"What happened?" Sanji asked as everyone gathered around.

"It just collapsed a few moments ago." Robin answered. "It's burning up with a fever."

Sanji's eyes widened, "A fever…?" He knelt down and gently picked Pika-chan up, giving everyone a better look at it. It's face was red and it was breathing heavily, sweat already apparent on its fur. "Pika-chan?" Sanji called softly.

The mouse slowly opened its eyes revealing them to be tired and bleary, "Pika…"

"We need Chopper." Usopp said softly.

Everyone silently nodded and Nami faced the sniper. "Usopp, you go and bring Chopper back here."

"Right." Usopp wasted no time leaping off the ship and bolting into the crowded town.

"Not you, moron." Zoro said sharply, holding Wado out in front of Luffy. The rubber captain had attempted to follow Usopp into the town.

"Alright, but what can we do until they get back?" Sanji asked, his eyes still glued to Pika-chan's limp form. He had never seen the mouse look so weak and helpless before and it was scaring the shit out of him.

"We should make it more comfortable," Robin said, as calm as ever.

Nami placed a hand on Sanji's arm, her concern growing when he didn't swoon over her. "Let's get it inside."

* * *

Nami led the group to her room where she allowed Pika-chan her bed. Sanji feebly tried to protest but Nami wasn't having any of it. Luckily, Sanji was too concerned to debate with her. They placed Pika-chan on the bed and tucked it under the covers; at least now Pika-chan was comfortable.

And now came the hard part: waiting.

Nami brought down a bowl of water and a small cloth and placed it near the bed. Sanji nodded in thanks and quickly dampened the cloth, placing it gently on Pika-chan's head. However, he couldn't help but feel concern rise even further when the mouse didn't respond to the cool cloth. His jaw clenched as Pika-chan let out a soft moan of pain and grimaced, blue sparks flying from its cheeks; this definitely wasn't natural.

Sanji desperately wanted to do something, anything to help, but he couldn't risk doing anything until Chopper got back. In other words, he was useless; a feeling he hated with a passion, and the circumstances couldn't be worse.

"I guess all we can do is try and get that fever down the best we can." Nami said; bless her heart, trying to stay hopeful.

"Maybe it's just hungry." Luffy said.

"I doubt that." Robin said flatly.

"Besides, Pika-chan is way too weak to eat anything right now." Nami added. "All we can do now is let it rest and make sure it's fever doesn't get worse." Sanji clenched his fist.

Luffy shrugged, "You never know; I always feel bad whenever I don't eat." He said, his grin wide. "I bet if we just give it some meat-"

Nami let out an audible gasp as Sanji suddenly kicked Luffy in the face. Hard.

Luffy slammed against the wall, leaving a good and deep dent, and sat up, rubbing his head, "Sanjiiiii, what was that for?" He asked with a pout.

"This is all your fault Luffy!" Sanji yelled.

"Huh? My fault?" Luffy asked in confusion.

"I saw you hit Pika-chan earlier when you were screwing around!" Sanji snapped.

"You hitting it on the head probably has something to do with this!"

"But Pika-chan was completely fine afterward!" Luffy protested.

"Sanji, I don't think a hit on the head causes a fever." Nami agreed, trying to calm him down.

"Yeah, if I had to guess I would say it has an upset stomach." Zoro commented, "Thanks to you."

"What?!" Sanji demanded dangerously, turning on the swordsman.

Zoro looked at Sanji, "You heard me; you probably gave it-"

Zoro was cut off as Sanji grabbed the front of his shirt and slammed Zoro against the wall, "Don't even finish that sentence you bastard!" Sanji yelled. "I always make sure that my meals are made of fresh food, even Pika-chan's!" He glared at the swordsman with rage filled eyes; how dare he suggest that he made Pika-chan sick!

"And if Pika-chan did get sick from my food how come no one else is sick?!" He went on. "Pika-chan eats the same things as the rest of you and I know what it likes and dislikes! So don't you dare think that I had something to do with this!"

Zoro said nothing.

"And besides, if my food could make people this sick I would've given _you_ that special dish a long time ago!"

"Like your food could take me down."

"You wanna test that theory?!"

"Bring it on!"

"Wait, food can make you sick?!"

"Shut up Luffy, you're not helping!"

"Everyone, that's enough!" Everyone froze at Robin's sudden words. Her face was drawn with seriousness and authority. "None of this is helping Pikachu; if anything, you're only making it feel worse." Everyone looked at Pika-chan as it let out a soft moan of pain and discomfort.

"We won't get anywhere arguing amongst ourselves; the important thing to do now is to stay calm until the Doctor and Longnose get back." Robin said firmly. Sparks flew from its cheeks once more and its face was screwed up in pain.

"She's right…" Nami said softly. Sanji and Zoro both deflated a bit from guiltand Sanji turned back to his sick partner. Pika-chan fidgeted in its sleep, sparks flying from its cheeks again as it grunted in pain.

Sanji moved back to Pika-chan's side and dampened the cloth again before replacing it on the mouse's head. Everyone could see how tense he was with worry; that outburst was probably because he just needed something to blame since he didn't know what else to do. But it was clear that fighting was out of the question.

All they could do was wait and watch their sick mouse until Chopper got back.

* * *

Usopp huffed and puffed as he ran through the crowded streets of the island. He had been searching for a good while, but there was still no sign of the tiny reindeer. If it wasn't so crowded, this probably would've been a cinch, but of course, their luck always had to be the worst in the world.

"C'mon Chopper, where are you?" He asked frantically, turning in a different direction. Little did he know, that a little ways away where he just passed, the ship's doctor was busy browsing through a well-stocked herbal stand under a tent that protected its products and customers from the earlier storm.

"This place is amazing!" Chopper gushed. "There are so many useful herbs here; and they're all on sale so I won't worry about blowing the budget!" He added a few more herbs to his bag and moved to another section, "We won't have to worry about medicine for a while, that's for sure!" He said with a proud smile.

* * *

Nami softly growled in frustration as she gazed at the island from the railing of the ship. "What's taking Usopp so long?" She wondered. "He and Chopper should've been back by now!"

She kept watch for a few more moments before heading to the galley. She grabbed a glass and filled it with cold water. She knew that it was important to keep the body hydrated, no matter what kind of sickness was running rampant. It would be good to keep some water on hand in case Pika-chan woke up. She walked back down to her room, but sadly, the mouse was still locked in its fever-driven battle, still moaning in pain.

"Are they back yet?" Luffy asked, looking up as she descended the stairs. Nami shook her head, placing the water on her desk.

"Dammit…" Sanji muttered under his breath. His patience was reaching the limit; he felt that he was close to completely losing it. Or completely breaking down from worry.

"'What could be taking those two?" Nami wondered.

"It is possible the Marines caught up with them." Robin said.

"Would it kill you to think positive for once?" Nami asked desperately. "And that's nearly impossible; they aren't wanted!"

"Fine." Zoro grunted, getting up. "I'll go after them."

"That's a joke, right?" Sanji asked sharply, finally tearing his gaze away from Pika-chan. "If you go then we'll be stuck here for an eternity with _your_ sense of direction!"

"And have you forgotten about your bounty?" Nami added. "You'll be spotted in a minute!" Nami put her hand on her chin in deep thought; Robin obviously couldn't go with her bounty, and there was no way she could ask Sanji to go. He was worried enough, there was no way he'd leave Pika-chan's side now. She doubted she'd have any luck finding them so-

"Maybe the captain should go." Robin suggested, breaking her train of thought.

"YES!" Luffy leapt up from his seat. "Finally, adventure!"

"NO WAY!" Nami punched him on the head, sending him back to the ground. "Robin, Luffy has the highest bounty out of the three of you; if he gets caught then we'll be screwed!"

"That is true." Robin said with a knowing smile. "But I have an idea that just might work."

The archeologist led Nami and Luffy outside and pointed to the buildings. "If the captain stays on those rooftops, he should stay out of sight." She explained. "And with his Devil Fruit powers, that should be no problem."

Nami lit up, "Yeah! And he could get a much better view to look for Chopper and Usopp from up there! Robin, you're brilliant!"

"Thank you."

Nami nodded and turned to Luffy, "Alright, you got that Luffy?" She asked. "Stay on the rooftops whatever you do; find Chopper and Usopp and don't let any Marines see you, got it?"

"Right!" Luffy said with a nod. He then stretched his arm and latched onto the nearest roof. "See you later!" He called, propelling himself into the air.

"I just hope we don't regret this…" Nami sighed, watching him go. The two girls headed back down to the girl's room. Hopefully, they wouldn't have to do much more waiting.

* * *

"CHOPPER!"

The reindeer froze and turned around. "Usopp?" He frowned as he saw the sniper running towards him.

"Finally...I found you…" Usopp said between deep breaths as he rested his hands on his knees.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Chopper asked frantically. "What's wrong?"

Usopp looked at Chopper, "It's really bad, Pika-chan's running a fever!"

"WHAT?!" Chopper screeched. "What happened?!"

"We don't know! It just collapsed!" Usopp exclaimed frantically. "It's back at the ship and I've been looking for you ever since! We need to get back, now!"

"HEEEEEY!" Usopp and Chopper flinched at the familiar voice. They looked up to see Luffy standing on the rooftop of the building next to them. "There you guys are!" Luffy exclaimed. "And you found Chopper!"

"Luffy, what are you doing here?!" Usopp demanded.

"Looking for you guys!" Luffy responded. "You were taking too long and Pika-chan's really sick!"

Usopp shook his head, "Whatever, let's just get back to the ship! We have to hurry!"

"Right!" Luffy nodded and stretched his arms towards his comrades. They wrapped around them, and brought them up to the building with him. "Hang on, you guys!" He said, getting his arms ready. Usopp and Chopper exchanged a fearful glance and gulped, gripping Luffy tightly.

"Gum Gum...Rocket!" And they flew off over the town, back towards the ship.

* * *

"How's it doing?" Nami asked as Sanji removed the cloth and felt the mouse's head.

"It still won't go down!" Sanji said in defeat; in fact, it felt hotter than before!

Nami quickly moved towards the bed, "If this keeps up, it'll get dehydrated." She picked up the glass of water that was still cool to the touch. "Let's try to get it to drink something."

Sanji nodded and took the glass, "Pika-chan? Can you hear me?" he called.

"Chu…" The mouse mumbled. It wasn't the greatest response, but it was something.

Sanji gently lifted Pika-chan's head, tilting the glass towards its mouth. "Here, try to drink something."

But the moment the liquid touched Pika-chan's lips, the mouse turned away from it, "Pika…" It mumbled, refusing the drink. It was too weak to even drink? Sanji lay Pika-chan back down, his hand shaking around the glass. This had just reached a whole new level of 'not good'.

Just then, multiple familiar screams were heard above deck followed by a loud crash. Nami and Sanji exchanged a glance before the navigator ran up to investigate. She burst out onto the main deck to see Luffy, Chopper and Usopp in a tangled heap on the deck with a nice sized dent under them.

"I'll never get used to that…" Chopper whimpered.

"Did you have to smash us into the ship? She's taken enough abuse!" Usopp demands.

"You said we had to hurry." Luffy says, tilting his head.

"You can argue later!" Nami says, stopping the blooming argument. "Pika-chan's looking worse by the second!"

Chopper immediately looked alert, "Where is Pika-chan?" he asked.

"In the girl's room." Usopp answered and the group entered the ship, bursting into the room without hesitation. Sanji was still kneeling by the bed and Zoro and Robin were still watching in concern.

The moment Chopper laid eyes on Pika-chan he rushed over. "Let me see." Sanji backed away. He lept onto the bed and placed a paw on the mouse's forehead. "Hmm…" he frowned. "It has a real high fever…" he gently opened Pika-chan's mouth, checking its tongue and its eyes for any tell-tale signs of what was causing the fever.

"How long has Pika-chan been like this?" Chopper asked, not stopping his check-up.

"It collapsed not long after the storm." Robin answered.

"Can you tell what's wrong?" Nami asked.

Chopper frowned, "All I can say is, this is no ordinary fever." he answered. The crew felt their fear begin to rise as Chopper continued. "Pika-chan's body structure is very different from humans and animals; I need to find the cause of the fever before I can give it proper medication."

Chopper eyed the mouse with a thoughtful gaze; he couldn't find anything that would be on a regular human that would cause a fever like this. He watched as Pika-chan grimaced in pain, sparks flying from its cheeks. He had always found it fascinating how the tiny creature released so much electricity for attacks, but seeing them sparking now seemed...off.

He remembered how Pika-chan's cheeks would spark when getting ready to attack, so why would they be sparking now? It doesn't have the energy to attack; could it be reacting to a feverish hallucination? Chopper watched as it happened again and the mouse grit its teeth and squeezed its closed eyes tightly for a second. The sparks were clearly causing it pain. Pika-chan wouldn't let sparks come from its cheeks if it hurt so badly. It's almost like Pika-chan can't stop its cheeks from sparking.

...But why would that be?

Chopper put a hoof on his chin in thought, "You said the fever started after the storm?" he asked.

"Yes." Robin said with a nod.

So Pika-chan was perfectly fine before the storm; in fact, it seemed fine when Chopper left the ship. What could've happened during the storm that caused this? Heavy rain causing a cold? No, it was warm out, and Pika-chan had been in storms before. Plus, fevers don't start this suddenly; it would've taken time for the sickness to settle in and they would've noticed symptoms before it got this bad.

What was Chopper missing? What would make it so that it hurt Pika-chan to send out electricity?

He looked at the sparks again and realized that they were blue; wasn't Pika-chan's lightning yellow? The last time he saw Pika-chan shoot blue electricity was when… they were on Luluka.

An idea came suddenly came to his mind. "Did Pika-chan absorb any lightning?" Chopper asked.

Sanji nodded, "Yeah, but only a few bolts." he answered. "Why?"

Chopper took out a stethoscope without answering and listened to Pika-chan's heartbeat just in case. To his surprise, the mouse's heartbeat sounded muffled, like it was blocked. Chopper's frown deepened, "I wonder…" He turned to Usopp, "Usopp, do have anything that can conduct electricity?" He asked.

Usopp wanted to question the odd request, but the authority in the little reindeer's voice made him think otherwise. "Uh, I'll check!" And he ran out of the galley. He came back a few seconds later with a small voltage meter and two metal rods. "Will this work?" He asked.

"Yes, that's perfect!" Chopper responded, taking the meter. Before anyone could ask what he was doing, Chopper placed the two rods on Pika-chan's cheeks. The rods immediately lit up as the sparks from Pika-chan's cheeks intensified.

"Pika…!" Pika-chan let out a choked cry as the needle on the voltage meter spiked greatly, making the room light up with electricity. This lasted for a few moments until the electricity died down. Chopper put the voltage meter aside and everyone watched as the mouse slowly opened its eyes. "Pika…?"

"It's awake!" Nami said happily.

Chopper placed his paw on Pika-chan's forehead and smiled, "The fever's going down." Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. Chopper took out a bottle of pills and picked up the glass of water that was still nearby. It was still cool and fresh, so it would do for now. They could get proper liquids into Pika-chan later.

Chopper gently helped Pika-chan sit up and held the pill out to Pika-chan, "This should help numb your fever." Pika-chan swallowed the pill and Chopper helped it take a sip of water before laying it back down. "Now get some rest; you should feel better in no time." Chopper said.

"Pika…" The mouse responded with a smile and quickly fell asleep. Sanji visibly slumped in relief; thank god that ordeal was over.

"Chopper, how did you know that would work?" Nami asks. "How did you know that was causing it?"

Chopper turned to his crewmates. "Those sparks coming from its cheeks didn't seem natural to me, and they looked like they were from the lightning Pika-chan absorbed back in Luluka." He answered. "I think Pika-chan's fever was caused by some kind of buildup."

"Buildup?" Usopp asked.

Chopper nodded, "We know that Pika-chan can absorb electricity from other electrical objects or sources; if Pika-chan absorbs electricity, it must store it somewhere." He glanced at the sleeping mouse, "When I saw the sparks coming from its cheeks, I figured that it must store the lightning there; but there's no way Pika-chan can store endless amounts of electricity."

Chopper faced his crewmates seriously, "Pika-chan must have absorbed too much lightning causing some kind of electrical overload; the electricity was too much for it to handle, but instead of releasing it, it built up inside Pika-chan causing a fever."

"Wait, you're saying that the lightning it absorbed on Luluka back then caused this?" Sanji asked.

"That's right." Chopper said.

"But released all that electricity during the fight." Sanji pointed out.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Zoro asked.

"While we were waiting for Nami to come back from the Rainbow Mist, the Mayor and that bastard in the lightning suit attacked us." Sanji answered. "Pika-chan absorbed a bunch of electricity from the suit and obliterated just about everything in one huge blast."

"Pika-chan probably didn't realize how much electricity it was taking in." Chopper said. "So when it absorbed the lightning from the storm it was added to the leftover lightning from Luluka, causing the buildup." Chopper rummaged through his bag and pulled out his medical journal, jotting down notes about Pika-chan's condition; he wanted to be prepared in case this ever happened again.

"Are you sure about that?" Usopp asked. "I mean, what if it was just a coincidence?"

"Well, that depends; has Pika-chan ever absorbed a lot of lightning at once?" Chopper asked.

Everyone was silent in thought for a moment, "Yeah, it has." Zoro answered eventually. Everyone looked at him. "Remember? When we were sailing to Lost Island?"

Nami's eyes brightened, "That's right, during that storm! Pika-chan was running all over the place catching all the lightning that was about to hit the ship!"

Sanji nodded, "And when it was over, Pika-chan looked really tired." he said, remembering the mouse collapsing in a mess of sweat and ragged breaths. "It jumped into the ocean and released all the electricity."

Chopper nodded, "I see…" Chopper turned back to Pika-chan, still writing his notes "Then from this information, I'm assuming that it's normal for creatures like Pika-chan to release any excess electricity they've absorbed; lightning is its power source so this probably happens often, but it's just a theory." He frowned slightly, looking up from his journal. "After all, we don't know anything about Pika-chan's species."

"But will Pika-chan be okay?" Sanji asked.

"I don't know if the worst of it is over; the fever may still come back, so Pika-chan will need constant supervision." Chopper answered. "Until the fever completely breaks, we should make sure to give it nutrients and lots of rest."

"What kind of nutrients?" Nami asked.

Sanji put a hand on his chin in thought; this was up his alley, "Apples and oranges are a good source of Vitamin C and can help with cold symptoms; would that work?"

"That would be perfect." Chopper said. "Just mash them so they're easier to keep down."

"Perhaps we should let Pikachu rest before that." Robin suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement and no one disturbed Pika-chan after that.

Sanji and Chopper stayed in the girl's room, watching Pika-chan closely for any sign of a returning fever while the rest of the crew kept themselves busy. Chopper took its temperature regularly, but thankfully, the fever never showed any sign of coming back. The mouse slept the whole time and soon the sun was beginning to set.

Chopper checked the mouse's temperature one last time and checked its heartbeat. "Well?" Sanji asked once he was done.

To his delight, Chopper had a smile on his face despite his glassy eyes, "I think we're finally out of the woods." Sanji let out a loud sigh and put his head in his hands; he felt like a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"I think it should stay in bed until morning," Chopper continued. "I'll decide then if it's okay to let it go."

"You're the doctor." Sanji said, making Chopper giggle and blush with a soft, "Shut up."

They exited the room quietly to find everyone on the main deck. They all looked up expectantly once they appeared and Chopper smiled, "The fever's just about broken." Everyone visibly slumped in relief while Robin simply smiled.

"It needs to rest for at least one night; is that alright Nami?" Chopper asks.

"That's fine." Nami answered.

"Chopper, would it be alright for Pika-chan to try and eat something now?" Sanji asked.

"Sure; just nothing too rich." Chopper responded.

That was all Sanji needed. He went to the galley and went to the pantry, going straight to their fruit supply. He pulled out two ripe red apples and went back to the kitchen, gathering all the appliances he needed. He washed the apples and promptly began to peel them. He then cut out the core and sliced them into tiny cubes with a few quick slices and chops. He then placed them in a skillet over low heat until they were tender before mashing them into a applesauce-like state.

He put the food into a small bowl, grabbed a small spoon and made his way back down to Nami's room. He entered quietly and smiled seeing that Pika-chan was still sound asleep like nothing was wrong. Sanji knelt next to the bed and put the bowl down. "Pika-chan?" He gently nudged the mouse. "C'mon partner, time to wake up."

Pika-chan slowly opened its eyes without any trouble, "Pika…" It greeted softly.

"Hey buddy, how are you feeling?" Sanji asked.

Pika-chan gave a weak smile and nod. "Pikachu."

Sanji held the bowl up, "I've got some mashed apples here; do you feel up to eating?" To his delight, the mouse nodded and Sanji helped it sit up before slowly feeding the fresh fruit to Pika-chan. "Is it good?" He asked.

"Pikachu." Pika-chan said with a bit more of the usual spring to its voice. Sanji kept feeding his partner until all the apples were gone. Pika-chan sighed in content and Sanji lay it back down, pulling the covers back.

"Chopper said you should be better by morning if your fever doesn't come back, so try to rest up." Sanji said. "And if you start feeling feverish again just come get us, okay?"

"Pika." Pika-chan answered with a nod and closed its eyes.

Sanji put the bowl and spoon on the ground and watched as the mouse slept. He forgot how vulnerable Pika-chan looked when it was sleeping; then again, everyone looked like that when they slept. At least this time, Pika-chan wasn't sleeping in pain because of a fever. It was strange; Sanji didn't think the mouse was capable of getting sick. It was certainly a wake-up call, for sure. Everyone can fall victim to sickness depending on the circumstances.

All Sanji could do was watch his partner sleep, waiting and hoping that nothing would go wrong during this fragile stage. "This must be how you felt back when I was sick." He said softly. He vaguely remembered blurry images of Pika-chan by his side, it's face in a constant state of worry.

"Except back then, we didn't have a doctor; I was definitely in a worse situation than you." Sanji smiled slightly. "That's part of the reason why I snapped at you; we already had our hands full with Vivi, and I had to go and get sick out in the middle of the ocean."

Sanji sighed. "But despite all that...you never gave up on me." Past memories of Drum Island flashed in his head. "You've never given up on me or any of us; no matter how many times you got beaten down, you always got right back up and kept going." He gently scratched Pika-chan behind the ears. "And this time will be no different; you're gonna spring right back up from this, just like you always do...just like we always will."

Sanji pulled his hand away from the sleeping mouse and folded his arms on the side of the bed, watching his partner vigilantly, just like Pika-chan did for him way back when.

When night finally fell and Robin came downstairs to check on the two, she smiled seeing Sanji, sound asleep where he was kneeling, His head resting on his arms. Robin quietly summoned two arms and draped a blanket over Sanji's shoulders and switched the light off, not disturbing their peaceful slumber.

* * *

The next day, I open my eyes to sunlight streaming through the windows. I yawn and sit up. I feel like a million berries! I notice a shape next to me and I turn to see Sanji, leaning on the side of my bed, sound asleep with a blanket draped over his shoulders. Did he stay with me all night? I smile and get out from under the covers; this guy really is the best partner I could ask for.

I go over to him and nudge my head against his, "Pika, pikachu." _'Sanji, wake up.'_

Sanji stirs and opens his eyes, fully waking up once he sees me, "Pika-chan!" He lifts his head off the bed, "How are you feeling?"

"Pika pika!" I exclaim happily. _'I feel better than ever!'_

I start slightly as Sanji suddenly picks up me up and gives me a hug, "Thank goodness…" he says softly. I squeal affectionately and give him a nuzzle; I'm certainly glad that ordeal is over too. We head up to the main deck to see the others already up and getting ready.

"Hey! Sanji!" Luffy greets, catching everyone's attention.

"Morning." Sanji greets.

I jump onto his shoulder and give a wave, "Pikachu!"

Everyone lights up at the sight of me. "Pika-chan!" Nami exclaims. "Is it feeling better?" I squeal and jump down onto the main deck, running around, full of energy.

"It's like it never happened." Sanji says with a grin.

"That's a relief." Nami says, kneeling down to rub my ears.

"But next time, be careful how much electricity you absorb." Chopper says, coming up to me.

I nod and give Chopper a big hug, "Pika pikachu!" _'Thanks for healing me!'_ I say, giving him a nuzzle.

Chopper blushes and gently pushes me away, wiggling happily, "Shut up, flattery won't get you anywhere!" I laugh at his antics; despite being sick for only a day, I really missed this.

"Sanjiiiiiiiii! I'm hungry!" Luffy whines. "Make us breakfast!"

"Yeah yeah, be patient." Sanji says waving his hand and heading to the galley. "I'll whip something up in no time."

I grin and follow him into the kitchen. I leap onto the counter and Sanji gives me a pat, more heartfelt than the last. We whip up a big breakfast and soon, everyone is inside, eating and talking happily.

Everything's back to normal; and we couldn't be happier.

* * *

 **Chopper, you brilliant little furball! Wouldn't expect anything less from the doctor of the Straw Hat pirates!**

 ***announcer voice* And if you take a look at the screen we can see that the Sanji &Pika-chan Nakamaship and the Chopper&Pika-chan Nakamaship are both ship-shape, sailing full speed ahead! XD**


	10. Anniversary

**This is it! Oh boy! It's June 16th! Today's the day! I hope you all enjoy it! X3**

 **Title: Anniversary**

 **Set: Some time after Skypiea**

 **Summary: It's a special day, and a special day is worth celebrating!**

* * *

Birthday's have never been something I gave much thought to.

I think that's because I'm almost certain that my kind don't _have_ birthdays. It's just not something we do. That doesn't mean that I don't know what a birthday is. I was there for a few celebrations at the Baratie when one of the chef's birthdays rolled around or a customer was having a special birthday dinner, so I know what they entail. Cake, present, and a whole lot of partying.

Turns out the Straw Hats celebrate each other's birthdays whether they like it or not (Zoro), and that's always a lot of fun.

Sanji makes food ten times better than normal if that's even possible. When his birthday rolled around he still cooked but he made food that _he_ wanted and Nami and Robin made a cake for him.

Presents are available depending on where we are. If a birthday happens when we're at an island, we can easily get something. But if we're out at sea, we just have to deal with what we have. Usually, (smart) people like Usopp, Sanji, Nami or Robin will get stuff ahead of time and hide them until a birthday rolls around or sometimes people like Luffy and Chopper will plan out a special surprise.

Long story short, birthday's are a ton of fun when one rolls around. For as long as I've been here, we've celebrated everyone's at least once.

Well, we haven't celebrated Robin's yet since she's pretty new to the crew and her next birthday is a long ways away (in November), but we did have a bit of a celebration when she joined up so there's that.

And again, I really had never given birthdays too much thought, until Luffy changed that. It was about a week after I started sailing with them, after Arlong's defeat.

"Hey Pika-chan! When's your birthday?"

My ears perked up at the odd question. "Pika?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Your birthday! When is it?" Luffy asked while lying on Merry's head. "We gotta know so we can celebrate it!"

I frowned slightly and shook my head with a shrug. "Pikachu…" _'I don't know…'_

Luffy tilted his head in confusion, staring at me for a good while when he got up and ran to towards the galley, "Saaaaaanjiiiiiiiiii!" And there goes the Meat Train.

After that, it never came up again. I shake my head and go back to looking out at the sea.

I'm sure that Pokémon don't celebrate birthdays. And even if we do, it's not like I would remember when mine is.

* * *

The next day, we docked at an island. A fairly simple place, with a small town and no Marine bases. Finally, someplace peaceful. I smile as I see a good amount of forest areas around the town, full of healthy plant life. I've always felt the most at home in forests, not sure why, but it's probably another memory thing. I doubt that we have time to stay here terribly long, but hopefully I'll get a chance to poke around in there. Maybe I can go now if I ask.

"Pika-chan!" I perk up as Sanji calls me from the galley entrance. I guess he wants me to go with Nami or something to shop-

"You've been cooped up for a while now; why don't you go explore?" ...Wait, what?

I look at him in surprise before frowning in confusion and tilting my head.

"We're running a bit low on supplies, so if you see any fruits or something edible out there, bring it back, okay?" Sanji goes on. Now I'm even more confused; we checked storage yesterday and it was just fine-

"Oh! Pika-chan!" Chopper suddenly jumps in. "While you're out there could you also look for some medical herbs? You know, the ones I've shown you before?"

My ears droop in confusion and I point to Chopper, "Pika-"

"I need to look for things in town, so I can't go!" Chopper blurts out. "And, well, you know how Nami gets when she goes shopping!" He laughs nervously and zooms off before I can get another word in. Even for Chopper that was odd…

"Well, you heard the doctor." Sanji says catching my attention. "Get to it, partner; and be back by dinner!"

"Pika-"

Sanji vanishes back into the galley before I can say another word. What was that all about? I look around the ship but it's already empty, the figures of Chopper, Robin, Usopp, and Nami all heading towards the town. Luffy's Arceus knows where and I guess Zoro's sleeping somewhere.

Well, better get my chores done and take the opportunity to look around. As I walk towards the forest I can't help but think back to what Sanji and Chopper said.

They want more supplies and more herbs? Why? I'm certain that we restocked plenty at the last island a few days back! Well, then again, I guess Sanji wants to have extra food in case Luffy decides to have a midnight feast again. And maybe Chopper wants to be more prepared in case we get into a really bad fight and Zoro does something stupid. I guess that's a good enough excuse.

I enter deep into the forest and immediately take in the cool shade and clean forest air. I scramble up a tree and lose myself among the multiple branches as I move from one tree to another. I climb up to the top multiple times just to take in the amazing view. After seeing the blue ocean for so long, the green plants and brown earth are welcome changes.

After a while, I slide down the tree I'm on and just run through the forest, a wide smile on my face. This just feels so great, so...right. Me running through a forest, not a care in the world...it's like this is where I'm supposed to be.

Before I know it, a number of hours have passed and the sky is barely starting to turn orange. Well, I didn't see any fruit in any of the trees or anything on the ground while I was running so that's a bust. But I still have a little time left to sniff around for any herbs for Chopper.

I wander around for another hour or two but turn up with nothing. Oh well, at least I know we didn't drastically need those things. I climb up a tree one more time and take in the image of the forest against the sunset one last time before climbing down and heading back to the Merry. Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't run back there just to enjoy the atmosphere for a while longer.

When I get back to the ship and board, everyone is mingling on the main deck. Huh, weird; I expected everyone to be in the galley waiting for dinner, or at least Luffy.

Now that I look at him, Luffy looks really excited and his gaze lands on me the minute my head pokes over the railing. "Hey!" I exclaims. He hurries over to me and plucks me right off the railing, hurrying back to the others. "Pika-chan's back! Now we can-"

"Shut up!" Nami yells, pounding him on the head and making him drop me.

"You made it just in time." Sanji says to me.

I tilt my head, "Pikachu?" _'Just in time for what?'_

"C'mon c'mon c'moooooon!" Luffy urges, bouncing on his heels. Chopper and Usopp are lingering near him in case he takes off; geez what is with everyone today?

"Alright, c'mon Pika-chan." Sanji says, leading us all towards the galley.

"Pika pika?" I ask.

Chopper giggles and pats my back, "You'll see!" He says gleefully.

We enter the galley and my eyes widen. "Pika?"

The table is full of amazing foods and sweets. A large cake sits in the middle of it all, it's strong sweet smell coming strongly from it hinting that it's fresh out of the oven. My confusion rises as I recognize the pastry and its scent. It's cinnamon-apple cake; my favorite. What on earth is all this?

"Isn't it awesome?" Luffy asks. "Sanji said that it's your birthday today! So we gotta celebrate!"

Wait, birthday? But...I don't have a birthday.

"Sanji sent you out so we could get ready!" Chopper chimes in. "He wasn't sure of your real birthday, so he decided to make it today!"

I am so lost right now. Sanji decided that today was my birthday? Can you just 'decide' a birthday? And why today of all days?

"I must say this is quite impressive." Robin comments. "You must have been planning this for a while."

"Well, it's a special day." Sanji says.

I look up at him in confusion. Not only did he decide on this particular day, but he's been planning this? "Pika?"

Sanji smiles down at me, "Don't you know what today is?" He asks.

I frown and slowly shake my head. Seriously, am I missing something?

Sanji kneels down in front of me. "Today's June 16th, the day we first met." He says, "A year ago today, you became my partner."

My eyes widen; has it really already been that long? And...Sanji actually remembered when we met?

Sanji pets my head. "I think that's a day worth celebrating, don't you?"

I stare at Sanji in awe as a multitude of emotions swirl inside me. Not only did Sanji remember the day we met...he considers that day special. So special...that it's worth celebrating, and in my honor. A smile grows on my face as I feel happiness take over and bloom inside me. "Pika!" _'Sanji!'_ I cry happily, and leap onto Sanji, giving him a huge hug. "Pika pikachu!" _'You guys are the best! This is amazing!'_

I can't help but stare at the spread before us. I'm still wrapping my head around it! All this food and cake...it's all for me! I don't think anyone's ever given me something like this, even in my past life! The food looks expertly done, even more so than usual and he had gotten everyone to pitch in and help for who knows how long! This must've taken so many days of planning...and Sanji did it all for me.

Nami puts a lit candle on the cake and Sanji places me on the table in front of it. Everyone sings 'Happy Birthday' and claps when I blow out my candle.

"What did you wish for?" Luffy asks almost instantly after.

"Luffy, you can't tell someone what you wished for!" Usopp exclaims.

"Yeah, or it won't come true!" Chopper adds.

Sanji cuts the cake and we all dig into the food. The cake tastes like pure heaven with the perfect blend of apple and cinnamon; not surprising considering it's Sanji. The rest of the food tastes just as good and everyone's enjoying it as much as me! After everyone's had a decent amount of food (minus Luffy), Nami and Usopp bring in a bunch of wrapped objects and place them on the table near me.

"Alright, present time!" Luffy cheers.

Presents? I look at the objects and realize that they're all labeled with my name, each one from one of my friends. No way...these guys actually-

"Go on, pick one to open!" Chopper urges.

I swallow to keep my tears back and I pick the one from Sanji, a tall skinny looking thing. I rip the paper off and my eyes widen to see a shiny new bottle of ketchup. "Pika?!" I exclaim happily, looking at Sanji, my eyes practically sparkling.

"Hopefully this will keep you from stealing ketchup from the kitchen." He says, grinning knowingly. I squeal happily and hug the bottle to my chest; maybe I won't use this now, but I definitely will later!

I pick the present from Chopper next and find a thick blank journal with a smooth leather cover, along with three brand new pencils. "I noticed that your other one was getting full." Chopper comments.

"Pikachu!" I say, nodding my thanks to him; good to know that I won't fall behind on my memory recovery!

Nami's present is next and I unwrap it to see a vest. It's a stormy blue color with big royal blue buttons and light grey along the collar and there's even a pocket with a small lightning bolt sewn on.

"I made it myself." Nami says. "Just in case you feel like dressing up when we go somewhere."

"Pika!" I squeal happily and I put it on. It fits perfectly, and looks amazing! "Pika pikachu!"

Nami beams at the praise and I pick up the next present. This one's from Robin. I unwrap it revealing a decent sized book. "It's a collection of Fairy Tales from all four Blues." Robin explains. "You seemed to love stories when we read Noland the Liar, so I thought this would be good in case you got bored."

"Pika pika!" I say with a nod; this is definitely up my alley, mostly since Robin reminded me how cool reading can be.

I grab the next present and see that it's from Zoro. But before I can open it, Usopp gets up, "Our presents actually go together." He says. "I'll be right back; you go ahead and open that." I nod and Usopp disappears out the door.

I open the present to find...marbles? I tilt my head and take out one of them; it's a decent sized metal ball that is bigger than my paw but I can still hold it easily. What are these for?

Just then, Usopp opens the door, his chest puffed out proudly, "Presenting…" He steps out of the doorway. "The Special Edition Usopp Training Dummy!" Standing in the doorway is a two foot tall thing made of metal. It has a weird frowny face drawn on it and is standing on a sturdy podium.

"If you ever want to practice your moves, or let out some aggression, the Usopp Training Dummy is just what you need!" Usopp goes on. "It acts as a lightning rod and is completely durable!" He gestures to the ammo. "Go on, give it a try!"

I give an entertained smile; why not? I put the bag of metal balls down and pick up one. I throw it up in the air and make my tail iron. I give a hard swing and the ball hits the dummy with a loud clang. The dummy bends back, but springs right back up.

I smirk and sparks fly from my cheeks, I let loose a decent electric attack and the lightning is immediately drawn towards it. The lightning hits the dummy, but leaves it without a scratch. "Pika pi, pikachu!" I cheer. This is awesome! I never imagined that Zoro and Usopp of all people could come up with such a cool gift, let alone think of one together!

Well, that just leaves one more present. "C'mon, hurry and open mine!" Luffy urges, bouncing up and down at his seat.

I pick up the present and realize that it's pretty light and not that big. I unwrap the paper and my eyes widen. It's a stuffed crocodile toy. It's a light tan color with black beads as eyes as well as fabric for fangs on its mouth; but it's also stuffed with sand.

I stare at the toy and Luffy grins, "Do you like it? I know you and that lizard from Alabasta were friends so I thought-"

"Luffy!" Nami snaps.

"What?"

I continue staring at the toy for what feels like forever. My paws run over the toy and I feel a warm feeling wash over me as I feel the familiar feeling of sand under the soft fabric. I slowly hug it to my chest, looking at Luffy with joyful eyes. "Pikachu…" _'Thank you, Luffy…'_

Luffy gives me a big grin.

Sanji gives me a pat. "Happy birthday, Pika-chan." He says.

Luffy then walks over and places his straw hat on my head like a birthday crown, "And thanks for being our friend." He says.

I look at all my friends, smiling around me and I finally let my tears of joy leak from my eyes. "Pikachu!"

My birthday wish came true...I'm loved and wanted by a family who accepts me for who I am and love me unconditionally, and I love them all in return. Despite my missing past, today does mark the day of a birth.

Today, I lost my past, but I gained a partner, a crew, and a family in turn.

Today is the day I was reborn.

Reborn as Pika-chan, of the Straw Hat pirates!

* * *

 **HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!**

 **Man, it seems like only yesterday when I started 'The Smallest Straw Hat'. Ever since that day, it's just taken off and I couldn't be more grateful to you lovely people for giving this story all your love and support! Pika-chan has become such a big figure in my writing life now that it just felt right to give it an official birthday!**

 **** **So there you have it! June 16th is Pika-chan's birthday! Like I said, it's a special day, and I can't wait to see what these stories bring in the future! HAPPY BIRTHDAY PIKA-CHAN!**


	11. Petting (East Blue)

**Prompt: Petting Part I**

 **Set: East Blue Saga**

 **Summary: Every Straw Hat has their own unique way of showing their tiny mouse affection.**

* * *

Sanji was the very first one to ever pet me, and it's changed over time. At first, it was more hesitant and cautious, like how most people pet me when first seeing me. But now, it's completely different. His hand always sits in the middle of my head, his fingers just barely resting behind my ears. He flexes his hand to prompt movement and his fingers always lightly scratch and rub behind my ears.

He also pets and scratches my back when it's morning and I'm having trouble waking up. There's no better feeling to wake up to then having your back scratched; it puts me in a good mood for almost the whole day.

It's a feeling I've grown to love over time and one that I hope will always stay with me throughout this journey.

* * *

Nami always tends to go for my ears. She starts on my head and always works her way up to them. She rubs them with her fingers, like she's testing the texture of my fur. Her touch isn't exactly gentle but it's sincere.

It always reminds me of the thoughtful and generous Nami I met back in Cocoyashi Village; someone who may seem rough and uncaring on the outside, but truly has a heart of gold on the inside. It sounds like a rare feeling, but it always feels just as amazing every time she pets me.

* * *

Luffy is kind of a mix between rough and gentle. Well, it actually varies depending on his mood. He's also the one who likes to pick me up and throw me around the most. He's like a kid the most in that regard; always wanting to throw things smaller than him. Luckily, if he does toss me it's to get me out of danger. When I'm not in danger, he tosses me a few feet into the air like we're celebrating, and then follows it with a hug.

Luffy _is_ a good hugger, and being tossed up and down out of joy is a lot more fun than being tossed by an enemy. At least I know that Luffy (or any of my crewmates) will always be there to catch me.

* * *

Usopp always pets me like a pet. Whenever I'm around, he reaches out and gives me a quick pet, like it's his obligation. But that's not to say I don't like it. It's like he's always reminding me that my crewmates care about me. It's always short and sweet, rubbing my head a few times, maybe with a scratch behind an ear every now and then.

He also gives me chin scratches on rare occasions, which I appreciate immensely. Usopp's the only one who is always able to find my sweet spot right off the bat, probably because he pets me so often.

If I'm ever having a rough day, Usopp is always the Straw Hat I go to for some good old-fashioned pets and scratches. Sometimes, it's the normal thing that makes me feel the most wanted.

* * *

Zoro is never one to show genuine emotion, always putting on a tough guy act. But I've seen glimpses of those few times when he takes off his mask, probably more than the others.

Having swordsman's hands, they're rough and callous, but his petting isn't as bad as you think. Whenever Zoro pets me, it's always quick and slightly rough; he presses down firmly on my head and his hand makes a few quick movements, and that's it. It kinda reminds me of when older siblings ruffle their younger sibling's hair, showing that they care despite their outward personality.

But when I think about it, that's always how Zoro shows he cares; by doing small, subtle gestures that may seem insignificant, but actually mean a lot.

* * *

 **Once the main story reaches Thriller Bark, we'll have Part 2 of this, featuring the crewmates that joined on the Grand Line**


	12. Sleeping Habits (East Blue)

**Prompt: Sleeping Habits Part I**

 **Set: East Blue Saga**

 **Summary: When you have amnesia, little things like how people sleep become a precious treasure.**

* * *

Everyone loves sleep. I think Zoro and I are the ones who love it the most. I should have known that being a pirate would come with very awkward sleeping hours, what with watch duty and any ship problems being out on the sea. Because of that, I tend to end up sleeping with whoever I'm closest to, or whoever I follow in a half-asleep stupor.

I rarely sleep alone; I always feel better when I have someone near me. Maybe it's the whole amnesia thing, but I hate the idea of waking up all alone. Being a pirate either means you get no sleep or plenty of sleep, at least in my case. I have the luxury of being able to nap if I want to and no one will tell me otherwise.

But if I'm being perfectly honest...napping is great and all, but I've slowly grown to love the feeling of one of my friends next to me while I sleep.

* * *

Zoro is definitely the calmest sleeper. Even though I often join him for naps, he's always slightly on alert whenever he sleeps in broad daylight. Unless a storm is blowing through, in which case, he completely ignores it.

When he actually sleeps at night, he's way more relaxed. Most likely because he knows that whoever's on guard duty will alert them to any danger. I tend to sleep on his stomach or his chest because Zoro sleeps in only two positions on his hammock. On his back with his arms folded on his chest or behind his head. And he never tosses or turns, even when he's having a nightmare. He just fidgets and squirms on his back!

Zoro's a good place to sleep when I just want to have some relaxing quiet time, but it always feels detached. Zoro isn't exactly the cuddly type, which is why I prefer sleeping with him when he's napping outside. That way, the sun can keep me warm instead.

* * *

There is only one word to describe Luffy when he sleeps: clingy. I can see why Monkey is in his name. I only sleep with him if I really want to cuddle or get warm and risk getting my spin cracked in the process. Not to mention that the boy snores; really really loud.

Thankfully, he doesn't toss and turn, but if he does move in his sleep, it's always when we're both a long ways away in dreamland so we don't realize it until we wake up. That usually ends up with one or both of us falling off the hammock. Yeah, sleeping with Luffy is a risk that I really only take if I'm too tired to care or if he's the only option available.

But despite all the downsides to sleeping with him, there is something...special about it. Yeah, he holds you and never lets go, and while it can be painful, it also feels...safe. Whenever I'm with him, Luffy always holds me to his chest, his arms wrapped around me in two large rubbery straps. It's like something will rip me away if he lets go for even a second.

So yeah, sleeping with Luffy is annoying, but I'd be lying if I said I never felt safe whenever he holds me.

* * *

Usopp is a pretty lax sleeper. Meaning that his limbs tend to hang off the hammock or wherever he's sleeping. But he's also pretty cuddly too, depending on the weather. If it's hot, he'll spread his body as if he's trying to air himself out, giving me plenty of space to find comfort. But if it's cold, he practically curls into a ball, and if I'm there, I get trapped in that ball. But then again, that only happens when it's cold out, so I'm usually cold too.

Usopp's clinging is like Luffy's only ten-times gentler. He kinda reminds me of a kid, kinda like Luffy only less intense. He's cuddly when he wants to be, and relaxed when he wants to be. He's the kind of person I can just fall on if I'm super tired, and no matter what position he chooses, I'll be comfy.

He's an all-around sleeper in every sense of the word, and it's a nice change of pace every now and then.

* * *

Nami is also a very normal sleeper. But sleeping with her is a plus cause she actually has a bed. I tend to sleep by her feet or next to her, because she's not, ah, accustomed to sleeping with a small creature like me.

Because of the blankets on her bed, I end up making it hard for her to move while she sleeps, since I'm weighing down the blanket. In the end, we both end up having trouble getting to sleep. We fixed this problem by Nami just inviting me under the covers, which does help, but, again, Nami's not accustomed to having something else in her bed with her. She either wakes me up when she moves, or she wakes herself up trying to be careful and remember where I am in her bed.

So, yeah, sleeping with Nami isn't the easiest or most practical, but we've figured out work arounds. On rare occasions we're able to successfully share the bed, and it's a great feeling to wake up to.

* * *

Sanji is...well I've slept with him the most out of everybody, since I've known him the longest. We started out on the Baratie, sharing a bed, though I was pretty distant back then. But over time, I found myself moving closer and closer to him.

By the time we became Straw Hats, I was either sleeping on his stomach or in the crook of his arm, pressed close to him. Sanji really doesn't toss around that much, only turning onto his side every now and then. And every time he does, his arm carefully goes around me, holding me closer. Sanji's body has pretty much trained itself to know where I am and how to move so as not to wake me or crush me.

It's true; I honestly can never tell when he moves in his sleep, unless I feel some kind of emotion coming off him from a nightmare. I'm actually kinda surprised when I wake up and find that we've moved in our sleep on the hammock. I sleep with Sanji the most now because I know him the most and he knows me. It's gotten to a point where it feels almost alien if one of us sleeps without the other.

I guess that's how you know how close you are with someone, if little things like this can cause a small stir of panic if it doesn't happen correctly.

* * *

 **Like the Petting one, once we get to Thriller Bark, this will have a part 2 as well :)**


End file.
